The Point of No Return
by LouiseGM2002
Summary: Wilton Parmenter returns to Fort Courage after having left it - and Jane - five years before.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Point of No Return

Summary: Wilton Parmenter goes back to Fort Courage after having left five years before.

**The Point of No Return, Chapter One**

The Mississippi.

Major Wilton Parmenter looked out the window of the train and thought about how much his life had changed each of the three times he had crossed this mighty river. Some could argue that the moment of change was when he left whatever was his home at the time, to board the train that eventually took him across the river, or maybe the moment of change was when he had already crossed the river and arrived at his destination to find out what awaited him. Maybe the change actually took place when he received word of his new assignment – or in this case made the decision that would change his life – but for some reason he had always felt like this river was where the change became real. He didn't know why that would be. Was it because it was the furthest west he'd ever been the first time he crossed it? He couldn't say that about the second time, when he had been coming from the other direction. Maybe it was because he had seen it as the point of no return then. And here he was heading west again. He probably wasn't past the point of no return this time, but it sure felt that way.

He'd been so proud the first time he had traveled west. He had known that there was something no one was telling him as they had pretended that Fort Courage was a plum assignment, but he hadn't cared. The world had been full of possibilities then. If Fort Courage had been a small fort in the middle of nowhere with a reputation for being ineffective, so what? He'd show them. He'd learn how to be a good officer, and he'd make a real difference. He was pretty sure he'd surprised a lot of people when he had actually done that. His success had proved to be a double-edged sword, however, for Command had finally given him no choice about accepting a transfer.

So off he had gone to Fort Henry, and while he knew that it was a huge advancement for his career, he had done it with a heavy heart. He'd left too much behind. But he had decided that he'd make the most of it, and four years later when they'd rewarded him by giving him the task of bringing Fort Sumter back to its former glory, he'd felt some of that old excitement again. It was a new challenge, a new opportunity, something he'd never done before… And then he had met Mrs. Emily Beauvais Williams.

She was a civil war widow his own age, and she'd already done the whole falling in love/engagement/wedding thing, so she wasn't in a hurry to do it all again. There was no pressure. Being with her was easy. She'd still been wearing widow's weeds when he met her, and it was a bit of a cliché to say that they were two wounded souls who had found each other, but he knew that there was some truth to that. And surprise of all surprises – he'd found that he was now the one who had started thinking about settling down. He'd been calling on her for nearly nine months, and the clear expectation among their social circle had been – and probably still was – that he'd marry her. The problem was that the more he thought about making it permanent, the more confused he became, despite the fact that she made him happy.

Boy, he sure hoped that he hadn't made a big mistake and messed up something good again.

Of course, she had known all about Jane from the very beginning, The Girl he had Loved and Lost. Somehow, he always capitalized those words in his head. For a long time he had carried around that hurt like it was a badge of honor, and he had blamed Jane for everything that had gone wrong. By the time he met Emily, though, he had figured out that it wasn't all Jane's fault. He'd made mistakes, and Emily was smart enough to know that he had regrets, just as he knew that she would always mourn the loss of the handsome young man who had ridden off with his new commission and made her a widow at the age of 26. But they were secure enough with one another not to be threatened by their respective pasts, and the seemingly insignificant event that changed everything had obviously taken her by surprise.

She had reached for a heavy book on his shelf. "Oh, look! I didn't realize that you read Dumas, Wilton." A wisp of dark hair had come loose from the comb that kept it pinned up at the back of her head, and he had just brushed it out of the way for the excuse of running his fingers across the nape of her neck when she opened the book and something fell from it.

She bent to pick it up, and when she turned to him with it in her hand, he felt that little tightness in his chest that always happened when he was reminded of his days at Fort Courage.

"What a pretty flower," she said. "Where did it come from?"

He took it from her, and for a moment he drifted away to another time, remembering the brightness of Jane's eyes and the flirtatious smile on her lips when she put the flower in the book and placed it back on the shelf. He quickly shook off the memory, and although he took care to keep his voice light when he answered Emily's question, it was too late to do anything about the small reflection of Jane's smile that had been on his own lips.

"Jane put it there," he said. "We had gone on a picnic, and she did it when we got back to my quarters. I guess we both forgot about it."

He studied it until he was sure that that the presence of the familiar old anguish wouldn't be written all over him, or that his expression wouldn't give away that he was thinking of blue eyes instead of Emily's brown ones. When he looked up again, however, he knew that he hadn't been completely successful, although he couldn't quite interpret what he saw on her face. Was it pain? Disappointment? Understanding? Compassion, even?

She hesitated, clearly uncertain. She had always been a confident person, one of those Southern women who knew how to graciously handle anything or anyone, and he berated himself for being the cause of her current distress. He didn't know what else to say, though, so he just stood helplessly until she took control of the situation again.

She held the open book in his direction. "That was a good place for it," she said kindly. "Let's put it back to keep it safe."

Neither of them had said anything else about it, but that night in bed he thought more about what a great day it had been, when Jane had enjoyed it so much that she had saved the flower as a memento. It was springtime, and the weather had been unseasonably warm, so they'd gone down to the river and spread the blanket for their picnic near the bank. The early flowers were just beginning to appear, and Jane had picked a delicate white bloom and put it behind her ear. He remembered that he could smell it when he kissed her, and that he had to be careful not to jostle it from its place when he stroked her hair. The memory was so fresh that it was hard to believe it had happened over five years ago. Where was she now? Did she ever think of him the way he thought of her?

He had worked long hours the next two days so he hadn't had a chance to see Emily, but on the third day after the flower incident he had escorted her to an afternoon tea celebrating the engagement of a friend's daughter. She had genuinely seemed to enjoy herself, but she was preoccupied on the buggy ride there and back. He also noticed at their arrival that she had held his elbow a moment longer than necessary, and that she had searched his eyes briefly before allowing their hostess to pull her away. He had gone to the side of the room to stand with the men, who like him weren't completely happy to be spending their Saturday afternoon this way, but soon enough it was over and he was standing with her inside her front door. Usually she invited him to sit with her in the parlor, but this time she didn't.

She moved close and put her hand on his cheek. She was a small woman, and he had always liked the way she had to turn her face up to his whenever she gazed into his eyes. "You're such a good man, Wilton," she said, almost regretfully.

He frowned slightly, not sure where she was going with this.

"I enjoy being with you," she continued, "and I know you enjoy being with me. We have fun together. We make a good couple."

"Yes, we do," he replied. He put his hands on her back and tried to pull her close, but she stepped away carefully, and he had no choice but to let his hands drop to his sides. He took a deep breath, finally comprehending what was happening. "Emily, I've never been one to talk about my feelings, but I care deeply for you," he said. "You believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I feel the same way about you, which is what makes this so hard."

"Then why talk like this? Is it because of the way I acted the other day? If it is, I'm sorry. I just slipped up. It won't happen again."

"Oh, Wilton. Yes, it will."

He shook his head, ready to argue, but she jumped in before he could.

"I've been thinking about this a lot over the past three days," she said, "and I keep coming back to one thing: I got to marry the love of my life, and it seems only fair that you should have the chance to do the same."

He could only blink stupidly, not sure he had heard her right. "What?"

"You need to go to Kansas and try to win back Jane."

"Oh, I… I don't think so, I mean… It's been a long time, and I don't want to lose you, and…"

"Wilton." She put her hand on his arm. "When George died, I thought that I would die, too, and for years I just wrapped that grief around me like I was in a cocoon. Then you came into my life, and now I feel like a real, living woman again. That's hard to give up. But no matter what happens between you and me, I'll always have that glorious first love. That can never be taken away from me."

It stung him to hear this, and he didn't bother to keep it from his voice. "So you're saying that I could never measure up to George. Is that it?"

"No, not at all. I'm a different person now, and I expect different things from life. And who knows? Maybe you would be happy with that, too, but it seems terribly unfair to you. You need to do this, Wilton. You need to do this, or you will always wonder what might have happened if you'd only tried."

He looked at the floor. "I don't know, Emily. I admit that I've been confused recently, but this is only making it worse."

"Maybe that's true right now, but it might clarify things for you if you let it. Go home and think about it, and tell me what you decide."

When he looked back up at her, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. She had discussed it all so dispassionately that he had been hurt at how easy it was for her, but maybe it wasn't so easy after all. He gripped her shoulders, kissed her cheek, and left.

Of course, he had made his decision, for here he sat, on a train headed for Kansas. He had drummed up a reason for Command to send him to Fort Courage, but it was a flimsy excuse and he knew it. Emily had told him that if he came back to Charleston alone, she would still be there, but he wasn't so sure. He felt like something had shifted, and it could never be the same. It had changed. And he had just crossed the point of no return, hadn't he?

He remembered how everything had changed, before…

**End Chapter One**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Two**

"Howdy, Wilton! Mail call."

He glanced up from his desk as she came through the door. "Hi, Janie. You can just put the mail there, next to the paperweight."

Bending, she threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly on the lips, which caused his chair to rock backwards. He had to grab the edge of the desk to keep from toppling over.

When she straightened, she quickly riffled through the stack of mail and pulled one out. "This looks real official-like. Don't you want to read it now?"

He took a moment to recover from her enthusiastic greeting, then accepted it from her and examined the envelope. "Hmmm… It's from the Department of War."

He picked up a letter opener and made short work of the envelope, but when he started reading the letter, he quickly covered his mouth and leaned his elbow on the desk. "Oh, no," he muttered, still reading.

"What?"

He finished the letter, read it again, and finally looked at her. "I'm being transferred. To Fort Henry, in Tennessee."

"Oh, no, Wilton! Tell them you don't want to go! You've found a way to wiggle out of this before. You can do it again!"

"No, not this time." He pointed at the bottom of the letter. "The last paragraph comes right out and says that I have to accept this transfer if I want to retain my commission."

She started to cry. "When do you have to go?"

"My replacement is already on his way here. I'm to report to Fort Henry in a week."

"A week?" she wailed. "Doesn't it take two days to get there? So you have to leave in five days? Only five days?"

"Now now, Janie." He stood and gathered her into his arms. "We always knew that this was a possibility. I'm an officer in the army, and that's what army officers do. I was lucky to get to stay here this long."

"But Tennessee! It's so far away." She dragged her sleeve across her eyes. "Take me with you."

"I can't do that. We're not even engaged! It wouldn't be proper."

"But you promised you'd get me a ring. If I can't go with you now, get me a ring, and I'll join you later and we can get married then."

"Oh, no, no, now would be a terrible time to get engaged. I'll have to get there, get settled – there's just too much to do. I've told you that I'll give you a ring someday, and I will, but this isn't the right time."

She threw him an angry look and took a step back so she could poke him in the chest with her finger. "Wilton Parmenter, it's never the right time. I'm starting to think that it'll be like this forever. And now you're leaving! What will happen to me?"

He was saved from continuing the discussion by the arrival of Sergeant O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn. Jane took one look at them and started wailing again.

"Wilton's being sent away! To Tennessee! In five days!"

O'Rourke was the first to react. "Captain?"

"I'm being transferred. To Fort Henry. My replacement is a Captain…" He took a quick look at the letter. "Captain Moore. He's already on his way here."

Agarn clutched his chest like he'd been shot. "Captain! Say it ain't so!"

"Hang on, Agarn," said O'Rourke. "Five days. It doesn't give us much time to figure out a way around this, but maybe-"

Wilton held up his hand. "Sergeant, I appreciate it, but they've said that I'll lose my commission if I try to fight it this time."

"Are you sure? The army is always saying one thing and doing another."

"Yes, pretty sure." He glanced guiltily at Jane. "I didn't want to say anything about it before, but they told me when I refused the promotion to major that I'd used up my last favor. The army tends to take it personally when they want to promote you and you won't let them."

O'Rourke's shoulders drooped. "So that's it."

"It would seem so."

Agarn's lower lip started to tremble, and Wilton sincerely hoped that he wouldn't have to go through another tearful scene. "Here." He nudged Jane in Agarn's direction. "You two cry on each others' shoulders. Sergeant O'Rourke and I have to start making plans."

O'Rourke nodded regretfully. "Captain, I'm real sorry to hear this. We'll all miss the Old Man."

This time, he didn't even have to ask who the Old Man was, because he knew that the Old Man would miss them, too.

…..

He and Jane were sitting on Kissing Rock, doing what they usually did there, but somehow it seemed different to him this time. There was a sense of urgency in their actions, or possibly even recklessness. He and she had both always been careful never to cross that invisible line between what was appropriate and what wasn't, but tonight, it felt like that line might have moved. Just a little bit. Or maybe more than a little bit, but not much more than a little bit.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her and moved his lips to her neck.

"Oh, Wilton," she gasped in his ear. "You've never kissed me like this before."

"It's because I'm going to miss you," he groaned. "This'll have to last us for a while, and boy, it's going to be tough."

"It doesn't have to be that way. We could go to the Justice of the Peace right now."

Making a small noise of frustration, he pulled away from her and let his head flop forward, but she just scooted closer and ran her fingers through his hair. Kissing his cheek softly, she murmured, "Just think – it could be like this all the time. You and me, hugging and kissing all we want."

She'd brought up the topic of marriage almost every time they'd been together since he got his orders, even when they'd only run into each other in passing, but he realized that she was taking a new tack this time. Getting angry hadn't worked, crying hadn't worked, and cool logic hadn't worked, but he had to admit that this approach was pretty darn effective. She pressed her body against his, and he caught himself just before he started to relent.

He grasped her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him. "Jane, I can't deny that it's an attractive thought, but we can't let ourselves rush into anything just because of… that."

"Rush into anything? Wilton, if we moved any slower, they'd be calling the undertaker because they'd think we were both dead. Does it ever occur to you that I might not wait forever?"

"I'm not asking you to wait forever. Just a little while longer until I get settled in Tennessee, and then we'll discuss what our next step should be."

She frowned, clearly vexed, but he ignored it and pulled her close again. Soon they had gotten back to the task at hand, but it was obvious that the mood was gone.

…..

Wilton stood at attention with the men when the new captain rode into the fort. He couldn't help but notice that Captain Moore was younger than he was, taller than he was, and cut a rather dashing figure on his large black horse, which was even larger than his own horse was. He also couldn't help but notice that the young, tall, and dashing new captain immediately zeroed in on Jane, who was standing on the headquarters' front porch.

Moore dismounted and approached the men, and Wilton met him halfway.

"Welcome, Captain Moore."

"Thank you, Captain Parmenter. It's good to be here."

Wilton quickly dispensed with the introductions to the troops and dismissed them, and as he stood with Moore, O'Rourke, and Agarn, Jane left the porch. Moore's polite smile became an outright grin when he noticed that she was heading in their direction.

'Uh, Captain Moore," said Wilton, "this is Jane Thrift. She runs the trading post in the town. Jane, this is Captain Moore."

"Hello, Miss Thrift," said Moore.

She smiled and looked at Moore through her lashes. Wilton pressed his lips into a thin line as he wondered if this was an automatic response to every man she met, or if it was just always for his own benefit. Because it never failed that she would get that look on her face, and then the man would get that look on his face, and they'd look at each other just like that…

"Heck," she said, "You can call me Wrangler Jane like everyone else 'round here does. I need to get back to the store now. I'll talk to y'all later."

Moore doffed his hat to her, and when she walked away, his eyes followed her for a moment before he turned back to Wilton. Wilton sighed, knowing that this was the price he paid for courting the prettiest girl in town.

Soon they were deeply immersed in a discussion of the transition and their plans for everything that needed to happen in the next three days.

…..

The next morning, Wilton left his office and crossed the compound toward Jane's store. They had gone to kissing rock again last night, and although he'd had visions of rekindling the romance of two nights ago, the evening hadn't gone as well as he had hoped. She'd brought up the marriage question before he'd even put his arms around her, and although he'd managed to keep avoiding the issue, she'd doggedly stayed at it between kisses. It had put a damper on their ardor, to say the least. However, she had eventually let it drop, so maybe they could finally have a normal conversation without any mention of those three little words he didn't want to hear: ring, engagement, or marriage.

He entered her store to find Captain Moore standing at the counter with her. Moore had told him just ten minutes ago that he had some personal things to take care of, but he must have made a beeline here.

"Morning, Wilton," said Jane when she saw him.

"Good morning, Jane," he said, frowning slightly as he joined them at the counter. He could tell that Moore was waiting for him to take care of whatever business had brought him here and leave, but he decided that he'd just stand with them until the other man grew so uncomfortable that he'd leave, instead.

They stared at each other in a stalemate until Moore finally blinked first.

"I'll be going now," he said.

Moore accepted a small parcel and a receipt from Jane, and when Wilton looked closer, he saw that the parcel was toilet water. _Toilet water?_ he thought. _Really? _Moore thanked her and left.

Wilton waited until the other man was out of sight before he turned back to Jane. He noticed that she was trying not to smile.

"Wilton, are you jealous?" she asked.

"No, of course not," he replied. "It's just that he and I have a lot to do, but we had to stop when he told me that he needed to attend to some personal business. I guess it was urgent that he buy some toilet water. What the heck does he need with toilet water at a frontier outpost, anyway?"

"Maybe he just wants to smell nice," she teased.

Wilton snorted derisively. "I suppose being tall and handsome isn't enough. He has to smell better than everyone else, too."

She came around the counter and put her hands on the back of his neck. "Silly goose. You don't need to be jealous. I don't care how tall, handsome, or sweet-smelling he is."

He smiled sheepishly. "I might be a little jealous. Sorry."

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone, and then gave her a quick kiss and a pat on the back before he started toward the door.

"I just stopped by to say hello," he said. "I need to get back to the fort now."

"Wilton, wait just a minute."

He could tell immediately by the wheedling tone of her voice and the look on her face what she was going to say.

She continued. "When are you-"

"Jane, for heavens sake! Can't you just let this drop?"

She put her hands on her hips. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Oh, really? Do you think that I can't guess by now what you're going to bring up every single time we see each other?"

"Well, do you blame me? You've had years to make it official, and now you only have two days! We need to settle this!"

"It is settled. This isn't a good time to get engaged, and that's that. I'm tired of talking about it, and I'm not going to discuss it anymore."

"But-"

"I mean it."

"But Wilton-"

"That's it, Jane! No more!"

Her lips pressed together, she took a deep breath and balled her hands into fists. "Ohhh… Fine! Just fine!" She snatched up a box that was sitting on the end of the counter. "I have to make a delivery!" 

He watched her stomp out the door. Maybe, finally, this would be the end of it. Taking a deep, calming breath, he pushed his hat down more firmly onto his head, left the store, and stalked away in the opposite direction.

…..

Wilton signed a document, added it to the tidy stack for Captain Moore's attention, and held his to-do list closer to the lantern to see how he was doing. Sighing heavily, he ran his fingers through his hair. He still had at least two hours of paperwork left, and he would be smart not to put off the rest of his packing until tomorrow because the day would be filled with all of those unplanned, last-minute things that always came up. But…

Jane had swung by earlier in the evening to see if he would take a moonlight walk with her, and he'd told her he was too busy. He remembered how disappointed she'd been, and he also remembered their argument from earlier in the day. She'd sulked all afternoon, and he knew that it had been a big concession for her to come to him this evening and ask him to take a walk. And then he had hurt her again with his answer.

Before common sense could get the better of him, he put down his to-do list, grabbed his hat, and left.

As he crossed the compound, he pictured the delighted expression that would be on her face when he told her that he'd chosen her over his chores. She'd give him a big hug and a kiss, tuck her hand under his arm, and they'd set off for Kissing Rock again, or maybe they'd stroll toward the river. The moon was so full that they could even sit on the overlook and watch the buffalo down in the valley. When he got to her store, however, it was dark both upstairs and downstairs, so he turned around to see if he could spot her anywhere nearby. Nothing. He changed direction and headed toward the stable.

He came around the corner, and sure enough, there she was, up the street, inside the stable. The lantern wasn't lit, but he could still see her clearly. Just as he got close enough to announce his presence, however, he realized that she wasn't alone. There was a man with her. Something about their posture made him check his step and ease back into the shadows under a tree where he could see them without being seen, himself.

It was Captain Moore.

Her horse, Red, had hung his head over the stall door, and she was standing there rubbing his nose. Captain Moore had been leaning against the wall to her right when Wilton arrived, but now he moved close behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and gently turned her toward him. She didn't look up at first, but as Wilton watched, Moore put his fingertips under her chin, lifted her face, and then bent and kissed her.

He kissed her.

It was brief, and a moment later Jane seem to shake herself and take a step back, but it was an uncertain step back, not an emphatic step back or an indignant step back or some other type of step back that he would have expected. Instead, she appeared to be confused. Feeling as if the ground had suddenly tilted beneath his feet, Wilton had to grab the nearest branch to steady himself, and then he turned around and almost ran into the tree trunk in his haste to get away.

He walked quickly back to the fort, aware that he had a dazed look on his face but unable to do anything about it. He prayed that he wouldn't run into someone who would expect him to stop and talk, say hello, wave, nod, or even acknowledge their existence. It couldn't be – he couldn't possibly have seen what he thought he had seen. Not Jane, not with Captain Moore.

By the time he had made his way back to his quarters and stumbled through the door, however, he knew that it was true. He had really seen it. Jane was being romanced by the dashing Captain Moore. He was right to have been jealous before. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the back of the door. The pain in his chest was so sharp it occurred to him that he might be having a heart attack, but he ignored it until it finally faded into a dull ache.

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. The desk, the table, the fireplace, the ornaments on the walls… It was all so familiar, but it appeared foreign now, with the photograph taken at his promotion ceremony packed away, his dress uniform draped over the back of a chair so he could put it in his trunk last, the few odds and ends he had brought with him all gathered on the sideboard until he could find a small box to put them in. He knew that his bedroom would be in similar disarray and that he should at least try to fold some clothing tonight, but even that small effort was beyond him.

He blew out the lantern by his desk and headed off to bed.

…..

When Jane walked through the door the next morning with the mail, he couldn't believe that she acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Howdy, Wilton!" she said as usual when she saw him sitting at his desk. "Here's your mail."

She strode energetically toward him, but her step faltered when she saw the expression on his face. He had played this confrontation through his mind a thousand times during the night, and although he had decided to be brisk and unemotional and utterly reasonable about it, her breezy attitude changed all of that in a heartbeat.

His face set in stone, he said, "I saw you last night."

She carefully put the mail on the corner of his desk. "What do you mean?"

Shaking his head in disbelief, he felt anger begin to rise from somewhere deep within. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw you with him. With Moore."

"Just exactly what did you see?" she asked hesitantly.

"What did I see? Do you even need to ask that question?" She didn't reply, but she began to wring her hands together, and her abject helplessness made him even angrier. "He kissed you!" he exploded, coming to his feet behind his desk. "I saw him kiss you! Right there in the stable for anyone to see!"

"Oh, Wilton. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! It was a mistake. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"How could you do it, Jane? How could you do that to me? Were you even going to tell me about it?"

"I didn't think I needed to because he kissed me! I didn't kiss him!"

He came around the desk. "And that makes it all right? I watched it all. You practically gave him permission! All you had to do was step away or say no."

"I know! And it was stupid! But there was just something about the way he was looking at me-"

"I look at you that way!'

"-like he thought I was the most special girl in the world-"

"I think you're the most special girl in the world!"

She put her hands on her hips and took a step closer, abruptly matching his attitude. "Do you? Do you really? If you think I'm the most special girl in the world, why don't you do something about it?"

"Not this again!"

"Yes! This again!" She shook her ringless left hand in his face. "Where's my ring? If I'm so special, Wilton, where's my confounded ring?"

"I've told you! I'll get you a ring someday!"

"When?"

"When the time is right! How many times can we go through this? I've told you that I'll get you a ring, Jane, and I will! Don't you trust me?"

"No! No, I don't! Not anymore!"

He had been ready to shout his next accusation at her, but suddenly he felt as if all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, and the words died unspoken. He turned slightly away from her. "So," he said flatly. "That's it, then."

"Wilton," she cried with panic in her voice. "You can fix this!"

"No." He shook his head sadly. "What's broken here can't be fixed."

"This is your last chance, Wilton," she said through tears, and although her words expressed an ultimatum, he could tell that she was pleading with him. "If I walk out this door now, it's over. I'm never coming back. Don't let me walk out the door."

She waited for a long moment to see if he would change his mind, but he didn't react. Finally, she whirled and walked away. He made no move to follow, and soon the door had closed behind her and she was gone.

…..

"Goodbye, men," he said. "It's been my honor to serve with you. I know you'll make Captain Moore as proud of you as I am."

Moore and the men remained at attention as Wilton saluted briskly one last time, took a long look at the troops, and mounted his horse. O'Rourke and Agarn were already on horseback, and Dobbs was in a buckboard that had his trunk and carpetbag in the back. A group of townspeople had gathered by the town gate, and as he reined his horse around, he nodded to acknowledge their shouted farewells.

Jane stood near the back, on the left, unmoving with her chin held high. He didn't allow his eyes to linger on hers as his gaze swept past.

He kicked his horse into a trot, and O'Rourke and Agarn did the same. He didn't miss the look they exchanged with each other when they drew even with him just outside the fort. They rode in silence for several minutes, but finally Agarn couldn't stand it any longer.

"Captain, you can't leave like this!" he cried.

So. They knew. Wilton ignored him. He saw Agarn shake his head in frustration, wanting to continue, but O'Rourke held out a hand to quiet him.

"Captain," said O'Rourke gently, "I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, it's not too late to make it right. You two have been together too long to let it end like this."

Wilton took a deep breath, and for a moment he felt his resolve waiver, but then he remembered what Jane had done, and what she had said. "Sergeant, thank you for your concern, but I don't want to discuss it."

Agarn sputtered, "But Captain-"

"No more discussion, Corporal," said Wilton.

"But… but…"

"And that's an order," added Wilton firmly.

"Aye, sir," said Agarn with resignation, and that was the end of it.

…..

Now, almost five years later, Wilton remembered that long journey from Fort Courage to Tennessee. He'd tried to stay resolute and not second-guess his decision, but it had been difficult. It had taken a real effort to force himself to board the train at Dodge City, but he'd managed to do it. Then, as the train had started moving, he'd told himself that all he'd have to do was get off and buy a ticket for a train going the opposite direction, and he'd be back at Fort Courage in no time. However, when the train stopped at Kinsley, he stayed on board. When the train stopped at Larned, he stayed on board. By the time the train arrived in Wichita, he felt himself begin to harden, to shut away that part of himself that had been hurt. And he told himself that when he crossed the Mississippi River, that would be it. No more second thoughts, no more doubts, and no more feeling sorry for himself.

And that's what he had done.

What would he find when he arrived at Fort Courage? Would Jane be happy to see him or would she still be angry? Would she maybe not care one way or another? She might be married, or she might even have moved away. Well, he'd know soon enough, for the train was getting ever closer to Dodge City, and he'd be there before he knew it.

**End Chapter Two**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Three**

When he stepped off the stagecoach onto the dusty main street of the town, his first sight was the delighted face of Sergeant O'Rourke, immediately followed by the delighted face of Corporal Agarn.

O'Rourke snapped off a quick salute. "Captain, I mean Major! What a surprise!"

"We knew a major was coming," crowed Agarn, "but we didn't know it would be you!"

"Hello men." Wilton had extended his hand for hearty handshakes after he returned their salutes, and now they were both pounding him on the back.

"Boy, will the men ever be surprised," said Agarn. "I can't wait to see their faces!"

"So where are you coming from?" asked O'Rourke.

"I'm stationed at Fort Sumter. I've been there for almost a year." He glanced up and down the street. "Everything looks the same, although I do think that I see a new guard tower in the fort."

"Well, you know." O'Rourke shrugged with a 'what can you do?' gesture.

"I think about all of you often," continued Wilton. "Whenever a report comes out about Indian activity in the West, I always search for Fort Courage first. I've seen nothing but good news."

"Chief Wild Eagle was mad at us for a little while because we didn't invite him to Duffy's birthday party," said Agarn.

"Oh, really?" said Wilton. "That's too bad."

"We meant to, but Dobbs lost the invitation, and then we-"

"Agarn," interrupted O'Rourke. "I doubt that the Army would have included that in their report. Would the major like to review the troops now?"

O'Rourke had taken a step toward the fort, but Wilton pointed vaguely in the direction of Jane's store. "Actually, I thought I'd, uh, I thought I'd swing by and say hello to Jane first. Is she still there?"

O'Rourke's expression changed to one of appraisal, but Wilton didn't allow himself to react. "Yes, she's still there," said O'Rourke.

"She's not, er, married, is she?"

"No, she's not married."

"All right." Wilton started backing up in the direction of Jane's store. "Give me five minutes, and I'll join you in the fort."

…..

"Here, Mrs. Landry, let me help you with that."

Jane lifted the front of her voluminous skirts and climbed up a short ladder, and then stretched her arms until she could reach the bag of flour Mrs. Landry wanted. She heard the door to her store open and close, but she didn't spare any attention for it until she had the bag in her hands and she was off the ladder. She turned, and…

There stood Wilton Parmenter.

His hat in his hands, he was as trim and handsome as ever, although the gray at his temples was new. The major's insignia catching the light on his shoulders was new, too. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't completely solemn, either, and he was looking right at her with those beautiful, beautiful blue eyes that she had always loved.

She suddenly realized that she'd dropped the bag of flour, and a small white cloud was settling on the floor around her feet. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my! The flour!"

He stepped forward and picked it up before she could react. "Hello, Jane," he said softly as he handed her the bag.

She quickly put it on the counter. "Wilton, I can't believe it's you! Oh, and now you have flour all over you!"

She reached out to brush off the front of his uniform, but at the last moment she realized what she was about to do, and she changed the motion into pushing a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, instead.

"Um, you have flour… there…" He pointed at the spot on her forehead where she had captured the hair.

She laughed as she scrubbed it off with her wrist, and when he laughed back, she realized that her nervousness was gone. She saw him relax, as well.

"Wilton, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm on temporary assignment. HQ wants me to do what I can to streamline operations. I've spent the last ten months getting Fort Sumter back into shape, and they want me to apply what I've learned. I'll be here until Saturday, and then I'm to spend another six days at Fort Bravo."

"That sounds really important."

He shrugged dismissively. "So how have you been? Is the store still doing well?"

"Yes, it sure keeps me busy. The town has been growing, and I can hardly keep everything stocked."

"Does that explain why the flour is on the highest shelf?"

"Yes," she laughed. "I can't find a good place to keep everything anymore."

His eyes traveling across her face, he said, "You look terrific, Jane."

"I was just thinking the same thing about you."

He started moving toward the door. "Everyone is waiting for me, so I have to go to the fort now. Are you doing anything for lunch? May I treat you to a meal at the saloon?"

"Yes, I'd like that. Come fetch me when you're ready to eat."

"I will."

He put his hat on his head, tipped it toward her and Mrs. Landry, and left. Jane leaned slightly so that she could see him through the window as he walked away, but then she became aware of the plump, gray-haired Mrs. Landry standing nearby, appearing to be very interested in what had just happened.

She moved quickly to the counter and began to write up Mrs. Landry's ticket.

…..

Waiting near the gate to the town, O'Rourke saw the major coming and signaled to Agarn, who yelled something unintelligible.

The men scrambled into line. All they knew was that a major was going to be spending some time at the fort, and they had been told that they needed to stay sharp while he was here. They had no idea who it really was. O'Rourke jogged over to stand in front of them, and he deliberately didn't turn his back to them because he wanted to see how they would react when Major Parmenter walked into view.

He didn't even have to watch the gate to know exactly when that happened.

To a man, each one of them suddenly had a shocked expression on his face, and then they all started grinning. He checked to see if Agarn was ready to thump anyone with his hat, but Agarn had the same silly, non-regulation grin on his face as the rest of them. Dobbs even looked like he might break formation and run over there, but somehow they all managed to keep themselves in place.

Agarn yelled something else that was unintelligible, so O'Rourke pivoted smartly on his heel and saluted.

The major came to a stop before them and snapped off a salute. He was obviously delighted to see everyone, but he kept his face appropriately solemn. O'Rourke was struck by how different he looked – comfortable, utterly in command, and completely military.

"At ease, men," the major said. He was silent for a long moment, clearly moved to be standing there in front of them again, but finally he clasped his hands behind his back. "Men, I can't tell you how happy I am to be back at Fort Courage. I'm going to be spending the next few days with you in hopes of tightening things up around here, but to be honest, I look at you, and I think that Captain Buckner and I will have a challenge finding anything to improve."

O'Rourke allowed himself a small smile. He knew this wasn't true, and he knew that the major knew this wasn't true, but it didn't matter. He understood the sentiment.

"But we will try our best, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you in the days to come," added the major. "Dismissed."

The men immediately surrounded the major, and finally, O'Rourke saw the broad smile and crinkling eyes on the major's face that were so familiar.

This was going to be a good week.

…..

"… and you remember old Mrs. Thomason, don't you?" asked Jane. "I had taken supplies to her just two days before her grandson found her stretched out dead in the chicken coop. She always did love her chickens. He'd been trying to get her to move in with him and his wife, but she wouldn't budge…"

Pushing his empty plate to the side, Wilton leaned back comfortably in his chair at the saloon and studied Jane while she told him all about deaths and births, people who had left, people who had arrived, new businesses that were taking root, and so on. She was still just as bubbly as ever, but she seemed more substantial now, weightier, not physically weighty but more solid in her bearing, in her personality. She was dressed differently than he'd ever seen, too, in clothes that would have been fashionable in Philadelphia or Charleston or anywhere, not the homespun dresses he remembered seeing on her before, and she wore her hair up completely off her shoulders. The girl he had left behind was gone, not just because of her appearance but because of the whole package, and he found that he really liked the woman who had taken her place.

"Wilton, what do you think of Fort Sumter?"

Bringing himself back to the conversation, he said, "I'm enjoying it. You probably don't know this, but it was almost destroyed during the war. The Army Corps of Engineers had already rebuilt most of it before I got there, and now I'm working on getting it operational again."

"Do you live on the fort?"

"No, I have a house in Charleston close to the waterfront. I liked the neighborhood right from the start, and I get a good breeze coming off the water. For as long as I've been in the army, I'd never even considered living off fort before, but when I saw the house it was an easy choice to make."

"Is it hot there?"

"Yes, and humid, but you adapt. I suffered for a little while, especially at night, but people finally convinced me to move my bed out to the porch, and I slept much more comfortably there until the weather cooled down. Really, any discomfort from the climate is a small price to pay, because you've never seen a place that's greener, with huge trees and flowers you wouldn't believe. And there's nothing prettier than the sun coming up over the ocean."

"It sounds beautiful. It would really be something to get to see all of that someday."

He hesitated. Was it too soon? He had barely arrived at Fort Courage. He had planned to give her time to get to know him again, but here they sat and he felt like he had never left. Suddenly, the moment seemed right to tell her everything.

His heart beating faster, he said, "Jane, there's something I want to say to you. I had intended to wait, but now that I'm actually sitting here with you, I can't. I've been seeing someone, a Civil War widow named Emily. She's really terrific. As a matter of fact, I've been thinking recently that it's time for me to get married."

He saw a small shadow cross her face, but she quickly smiled and said, "That's wonderful, Wilton. Congratulations."

"The problem," he continued earnestly, "is that the more I think about settling down, the more my thoughts keep returning to you."

The smile faded from her face, to be replaced by a look of bewilderment.

He paused to gather his resolve before plunging ahead. "It's you I picture greeting me at the door when I come home after a long day at the fort. It's you I picture sitting across from me at the dinner table. It's you, Jane, that I see brushing your hair before bed, rocking a baby in the corner of the bedroom, lying beside me at night. It's you. It's always you."

Her eyes had grown huge, but otherwise she sat frozen.

He leaned forward to emphasize his words. "I made a terrible mistake with you, Jane, the worst one of my life. I should never have left without you. Will you allow me to make it up to you? Will you give me a second chance?" 

He could actually hear his heart beating in his ears as he held his breath, praying for the right answer.

"Oh, Wilton, no." She held up her left hand to show him a ring. "I'm sorry, but I'm engaged."

He sat back hard, feeling like he had been punched in the stomach. He could see just a hint of tears in her eyes, but he knew that they were there only because she felt sorry for him. She was proud and clearly happy. He quickly blinked away the sting in his own eyes and forced himself to smile.

"That's great, Jane. Who's the lucky man?"

"His name is Robert, and his daddy bought the bank here in town a little while after you left. He grew up in St. Louis, but he went to school at Harvard." She had started out cautiously, obviously concerned about his feelings, but as she continued to speak, enthusiasm crept into her voice. "He came here after he got out of school, and he's going to take over the bank from his daddy someday. We've been engaged since December, and we're getting married in September. He's a wonderful man. I think you'd really like him."

"I'm sure I would." Although it was the last thing he wanted to say, he added, "I hope I can meet him while I'm here."

She caught her lip between her teeth for a moment, and then said, "How about if you come to supper tonight at his place? He lives in that new house next to where the Paulson family used to be. You can't miss it. I'll cook us up a skillet of fried chicken, and it'll give the two of you a chance to get to know each other. Unless this is too hard for you-"

"Nonsense." Trying his best to sound enthusiastic, he said, "A home-cooked meal will taste good, and I look forward to meeting Robert. I'll be there."

…..

At the sound of the doorbell, Robert strode to the door and opened it. The man standing before him was small, but not as small as the town gossip Mrs. Landry had led him to believe. She, herself, had never met Major Parmenter before today, but she had gleefully relayed everything she'd heard from people around town, whom she had no doubt scurried around to interrogate as soon as she found out that he had once been romantic with Jane. She'd said that he was slightly built – yes, he was slight but Robert could see the outline of muscles under his uniform – and young – not so young, thought Robert, as he studied the other man's graying hair and sun-lined face – and inexperienced – Robert couldn't really judge that yet, but this fellow appeared to be pretty well seasoned to him. But then again, Mrs. Landry's information was old, and a man could change in five years. He also knew to take anything she told him with a grain of salt.

Robert extended a hand to him. "Welcome, Major Parmenter. I'm Robert Carlisle. Please come in."

"Good to meet you, Robert." The major shook his hand firmly. "Please call me Wilton."

Untying her apron, Jane hurried from the back of the house. "Wilton, I'm so glad you could join us."

Parmenter smiled at Jane with such familiarity that Robert felt a twinge of discomfort at the implication of their shared past. Ushering them both toward the parlor, he asked, "Are you enjoying being back at Fort Courage?"

"Yes, I am. I've been able to keep up with what's happened here from a military perspective, but that's no substitute for being here and seeing everyone again."

"Has it changed much since you left?"

"Yes and no. The town has grown, but just this morning I told Sergeant O'Rourke that I noticed a new guard tower." He laughed as he found a seat. "It's good to know that some things never change."

Jane laughed with him, and Robert pretended to be in on the joke even though he didn't understand. Wouldn't a new guard tower fall under the heading of something new, instead of, apparently, the opposite?

Pouring lemonade from the pitcher she had placed on the sofa table earlier, Jane said, "They haven't put a cannonball through the front window of my store in ages."

"Hey, that's great," said Parmenter. "Their aim must be improving."

He accepted a glass from Jane and paused to take a sip, and then gestured around him. "You have a very nice home, Robert."

"Thank you. I enjoy living here, but it's a bit bare. It will benefit from the presence of a woman once we're married."

"Jane said that your wedding is to be in September."

"Yes, we chose that date so it won't be so hot in St. Louis."

"Oh, you're getting married in St. Louis?"

Jane jumped into the conversation. "Generations of Robert's family have attended a big old Episcopal church there, and even though he and his parents have been gone for a while, they still have lots of friends and family in the area. His daddy's parents are hosting the reception…"

Robert settled back to watch the dynamics between Parmenter and Jane while she described the wedding. She spoke as if everything was her idea, but the truth was that his mother had taken over most of the planning. She was always very careful to include Jane, but it was clear that Jane didn't have the resources or the knowledge to put together the type of wedding his mother thought they deserved. Parmenter seemed to approve of everything Jane said – he knew that Parmenter was from Philadelphia, and from what he could infer was a bit of a blue-blood – so he assumed that his mother must be on the right track.

Jane looked at him affectionately, and he realized that he was so worried about Parmenter that he wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He saw no sign that Jane was still attracted to the major, so he decided to just relax and enjoy the evening.

…..

Later that night, Wilton slowly walked through town, his head down as he studied the dust that was kicked up with his every step. Jane was right – Robert seemed like a wonderful man for her. He was big, as broad as most of the country boys Wilton had ever met, and it was hard to believe that he was a banker and not a farmer. He lived in a large house with nice things, and Jane had seemed right at home as she bustled around in the kitchen. Their conversation had been awkward at first, as he had known it would be, but as the evening wore on he had to grudgingly acknowledge that he had quite a bit in common with Robert. They had both grown up as the only sons of prominent families overshadowed by authoritative fathers, been educated in the East, and followed family tradition with their choice of careers.

But he still didn't like the man.

He took a deep breath and blew the air out slowly, telling himself that he had to be fair. Jane was happy, and she'd found someone who would take good care of her. He had nobody to blame but himself that things had turned out this way.

"Hey, Major!"

Startled, he looked up to see O'Rourke and Agarn walking in his direction.

"Oh, hello, men. Sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts."

O'Rourke gestured to his left. "We were just heading over to the saloon. Can we buy you a drink?"

Wilton doubted that he'd be very good company right now, but the idea of being alone wasn't very appealing, either. Of course, he knew that an officer shouldn't fraternize like this with the enlisted men, and while he adhered to that convention at Fort Sumter – the enlisted men would be shocked if he did otherwise – it had never seemed to matter here. Which was good. He wasn't the only officer at Fort Sumter so he had companionship when he wanted it, but he still felt like he was missing out sometimes.

"Sure," he said. "That sounds like just the thing. Thank you."

"How was your first day back at Fort Courage?" asked O'Rourke as they fell into step together.

"It was good," he lied, but then added truthfully, "I sure have missed this place and everyone here."

"You couldn't have missed us more than we missed you," said Agarn. "Captain Moore was a real jackass. He-"

"Agarn!" interrupted O'Rourke. "You wouldn't want to be bad-mouthing an officer in front of another officer."

Wilton waved him off. "It's not a problem. I thought he was a jackass, too. Captain Buckner seems like a good man, though. It appears that he has things well in hand here."

"Yeah, he's done all right," said O'Rourke, "but it's still not the same as when you were here. Those were good years."

"Yes," agreed Wilton. "They were."

They entered the saloon and found a table. O'Rourke caught the bartender's eye and called out, "Hey, Joe! We'll have two whiskies and… What'll you have, Major? A sarsaparilla?"

"I'll have a whisky, too."

O'Rourke raised both eyebrows in surprise and held up three fingers to the bartender. "Three whiskies."

"Major, since when do you drink?" asked Agarn.

"Since a few years ago. I guess I'm not quite as morally upright as I used to be."

"Or sometimes life kicks you in the rear and only a whisky will do," said O'Rourke.

Wilton nodded. "There's that, too."

When the whiskies arrived, they clinked their glasses together and drank.

"So," said Wilton, putting his glass down with a heavy sigh. "You've probably figured out that the real reason I'm here isn't for an assignment." His shoulders sagging, he gave up any attempt at pretense. "Why didn't you tell me that she was engaged?"

O'Rourke and Agarn exchanged glances, and finally Agarn threw up his hands and said, "Because we hoped it wouldn't matter!"

Wilton frowned and sat straighter. "Why? Is there something wrong with him?"

"No, no," said O'Rourke. "He's a perfectly respectable guy. Solid, successful, well-educated, socially prominent-"

"Dull," interjected Agarn.

"Yes, dull," agreed O'Rourke. "He's a good man, but I've never seen him joke around or share a laugh with her."

"And she's different now!" added Agarn. "She never wears her buckskins anymore-"

"She never wears her buckskins?" echoed Wilton. "But I loved her buckskins."

"-and I haven't seen her on horseback for months-"

"She doesn't ride anymore?"

"-and she's selling the store."

"She didn't tell me that."

O'Rourke took a big swig of whisky. "It seems like he's making her into the perfect little banker's wife. It's not all bad, because I know that she was thrilled when he ordered those fancy dresses for her from St. Louis, but we're still not crazy about the situation."

"Have you talked to her about it?" asked Wilton.

"No, we haven't wanted to spoil her excitement," said O'Rourke. "She seems set on doing this, so who are we to object, anyway?"

"You're her friends," said Wilton.

"Yes, and as friends, we've decided to keep our mouths shut and be supportive." O'Rourke looked pointedly at Agarn. "Right, Agarn?" When Agarn didn't respond right away, he added more emphatically, "Right?"

"Yes, right," said Agarn glumly.

Wilton watched the last little bit of whisky slosh around in his glass. "I don't like it. Trying to change her. Why? She's perfect. She's, well, she's Jane. Why would anyone want to change that?"

O'Rourke just shook his head as he also stared into his glass, and they sat quietly until O'Rourke asked, "Is there not really an assignment, Major?"

"Oh, there's an assignment. I cooked it up myself and talked Command into sending me. I threw in Fort Bravo at the last minute because I wanted to have an escape route in case things didn't work out here. I guess that was a good idea…"

His voice dwindled away when he realized that Jane had come in the door. All three men looked in her direction.

"There you are, Wilton," she said. "Robert had to go back to the bank to finish up some work, and I thought you might like someone to show you everything that's changed around town."

He turned back to Agarn and O'Rourke, but before he could say anything, they both stood. "We were just finishing up here, Jane," said O'Rourke. "Major, you go ahead, and we'll continue this discussion tomorrow."

"All right then," said Wilton. "Thanks for the drink."

"It was our pleasure."

Jane had already started toward the door, and Wilton glanced over his shoulder as he followed her out. The other two men appeared to be as surprised as he was, and he shrugged slightly in their direction. He didn't want to get his hopes up, for this probably was just an invitation to see the town and nothing more, but whatever it was, he'd take it.

…..

Jane looked over at Wilton, who was sitting next to her on the top step in front of her store. Their walk around town had been nice, and they'd found a number of inconsequential things to chat about, but somehow when he had escorted her home and started to say good night, she had found that she wasn't quite ready for the night to end. So they had settled themselves here, and now she was enjoying the stars overhead and the breeze that wound slowly around them and the very real presence of the man beside her, so familiar and yet unfamiliar after having been gone from her life for so many years.

As if he could read her mind, he said, "Gosh, it's hard to believe that I'm back at Fort Courage, sitting here with you just like before."

"You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw you this morning." She smiled ruefully. "You know, after you left, I used to turn every time my door opened, half expecting to see you walk through it. It took months before I was able to accept that you were really gone."

He took a heavy breath. "Jane, I don't know what to say other than that I'm sorry for the way I left. Riding away from here was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."

"Really? It looked so easy for you. It was like you had changed, somehow, like it wasn't really my sweet Wilton riding away."

His brow creased, he shook his head. "I almost got off that train a dozen times. It wasn't until I had crossed the Mississippi River that I really made up my mind I wasn't coming back."

"It seems like it happened so long ago."

"It did happen a long time ago. It's true – time and distance really do heal old wounds. We can talk about it now. I don't think I would have been able to do this a few years ago, Jane."

"Me, either. I hated myself for what I did." She made a small, exasperated sound. "I was so young and foolish. Why did I even let myself get into that situation with Captain Moore? He acted like he didn't know that I was your girl, and I didn't tell him otherwise."

"Oh, I think he knew."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, but how could he look at us together and not see it? But it doesn't matter now, anyway. We can't blame him for anything that happened."

"No," she said softly.

"If I'm honest with myself, I can't blame you, either. You believed that you had a future with me, and I didn't come through on my end of the bargain."

"Why not, Wilton? You can tell me now. What were you so afraid of?"

"I've asked myself that question a thousand times. Maybe it's because I was finally living the life that I had always wanted to live, and I thought that changing it would, I don't know, diminish it somehow. Like it was something I had to guard, that it could be taken away from me as easily as it had come."

She couldn't help but be a little miffed. "I was never trying to steal anything away from you."

"I didn't say that it made sense. It's taken me years to figure this much out, and I'm still not sure I've really put my finger on it."

"So what changed? Why don't you feel that way anymore? Is it because of Emily?"

His eyes got a far-away look as he thought about it. "Yes, probably. We've been together for nine months, and she's never even hinted at marriage. She's always allowed me to set my own pace. No pressure, no expectations."

"Unlike me."

"Yes."

She laced her fingers together and put them heavily in her lap. "She's a wise woman, then, wiser than I was. What will happen with her now? Have you broken it off with her?"

"No, I think that she'll still be there. That's the plan, anyway."

"Does she know why you came out here?"

"Yes, she does. She actually suggested it. She realized that I still wasn't over you. I don't know if she's rooting for me to succeed for the sake of my own happiness, or if she's hoping that I don't and I get it out of my system once and for all."

"She must be pretty special."

"She is."

"Tell me about her."

He looked down at his hands and smiled. "She's a true Southern Belle. I never understood that term until I got to know her. She's small, almost fragile-looking, but inside she's as tough as nails. And she's got that genteel polish that seems to be unique to Southern women. She never gets ruffled and she knows exactly how to act in any situation, but she doesn't take any guff from anyone and she's got a surprisingly wicked sense of humor."

"You said that she's a Civil War widow."

"Yes. Her husband fought for the Confederacy. He was killed at Antietam."

"Oh, that's awful. It must have been so hard for her. Does she have any children?"

"They had one, a boy. He died when he was a baby."

Jane reached over and put her hand lightly on his wrist. "It sounds like she's had a rough life. I'm so glad she has you now. You will go back to her, won't you?"

"Maybe," he said, but then he seemed to think better of it. "Yes, probably so. If she'll take me."

"I'd be willing to bet money that she will."

"So, Robert seems like a good guy."

"He is. After you left, a couple of men tried to woo me, but I wasn't interested in anyone until I met him. I think I'm finally going to have what I always wanted, Wilton, a man and a home and a family."

"I'm glad." He smiled at her. "I really am. I'm sorry that things didn't work out between us, but it feels good to see you settled and happy."

She returned his smile. "Thank you, Wilton. That means a lot to me. I hope you can find happiness with Emily, too."

They looked at each other for a long moment, but finally he stood and extended a hand to her. "It's getting late, and we both need to get to bed."

She let him pull her to her feet, but she didn't release his hand. "I'm glad we had this talk, Wilton. There were things that needed to get said, things we needed to put to rest."

"I agree. I'll see you tomorrow."

He squeezed her hand once more before walking away, and she paused at her open door to watch him.

She had cried so many tears when he left her five years ago that she had finally cried herself out, and she couldn't remember a time since then that she had cried like that again. And after she had cried, she had become angry, until her anger was spent and she found that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. He was wrong that time healed all wounds, however. The wound might not still be raw and bloody, but she knew that the ache it had left behind – the ache she could feel so clearly right now – would stay with her forever.

**End Chapter Three**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Four**

Standing at the town gate next to Captain Buckner, Wilton watched as Dobbs ran his fingers over the hinge.

"Cap'n?" said Dobbs. "Do you want me to pull this old hinge clean off?"

Wilton started to reply, but he realized when Captain Buckner bent to examine it that Dobbs hadn't been talking to him.

"It's pretty rusty," said Captain Buckner. "Let's just replace the whole thing."

Wilton had a good view of both the town and the fort, and he noticed that Jane was in front of her store directing a young man who was loading a buckboard. She had mentioned last night that she'd hired an assistant, and evidently that's who was helping her. The young man leapt with enthusiasm to complete any little task, and the way he waited, starry-eyed, for his next instruction made it clear that he was smitten with her. And who could blame him? She was beautiful, with her blonde hair shining in the sun and her soft shoulders framed by the neckline of her dress.

Dobbs paused for a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow. "It's a stubborn little cuss," he said. "Give me a couple more minutes, and I'll have it."

Wilton had always liked that Jane never seemed to be self-conscious about her beauty, and that she was strong and confident and able to speak her mind without worrying that it might make her less feminine. He had known far too many women who primped and postured and professed never to have an opinion, and who complained if they so much as dirtied a finger. Thank goodness Emily wasn't like those women, either, although she could never grab one end of a heavy bag of feed and help someone heave it into a wagon like Jane had just done.

"There!" said Dobbs.

The hinge finally came off with a groan. The door tilted, and Wilton and Captain Buckner both rushed forward to help shore it up just as the wood around the other hinge started to splinter. It was obvious that it wouldn't take much more than a strong gust of wind to bring it all down.

"Captain Buckner," said Wilton through gritted teeth. "I think that we need to do more here than just replace one hinge."

"I agree. Dobbs, grab the ladder and remove the other hinge so we can check out the wood before we do anything else." He yelled over his shoulder. "Sergeant O'Rourke!"

Dobbs dragged the ladder to the fence, and a moment later Wilton felt someone at his back. He glanced over his shoulder to see that O'Rourke and several other men had joined them.

"You look like you could use some help, Major," said O'Rourke.

"Definitely," replied Wilton.

Still propping up the door, Wilton shuffled over to the edge so O'Rourke could squeeze in beside him. He was very glad to have the help, because the door was getting heavy, and he could feel perspiration starting to run into his eyes. He couldn't spare a hand to wipe it off so he tried to blink it away, but that just seemed to make things worse.

"Wilton, are you all right?"

He peered around the side of the door to see Jane standing there looking concerned.

"Yes," he grunted, "I'll be fine as long as Dobbs hurries up."

"You look hotter than a tadpole in a skillet." She fished around in her sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here, let me take care of that."

He closed his eyes so she could wipe off his face. "Thank you, Janie."

She gave him a funny look, and he realized that he'd called her by her pet name. She probably didn't hear it very often anymore – he wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Robert never called her by anything other than her proper given name.

Dobbs called out, "Got it!" and they all had to brace themselves so the door wouldn't fall over on them. He was proud of her when she got under it with them and helped them lower it to the ground.

"Whew!" said Captain Buckner. "This is a bigger job than I thought it was going to be."

Wilton inspected his hands while O'Rourke and Dobbs knelt next to the broken part of the door. "I hope I didn't keep you up too late last night," he said to Jane.

"No, not at all. Do you have splinters?"

"Just one, but it's a big one."

"Where?"

He held out his hand to her. Taking it, she said. "I should be able to get that."

He winced. "Ouch!"

"Hold still, Wilton! There." She pulled out the splinter and showed it to him. "Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?"

Rubbing his hand, he said, "I suppose I'll survive."

"I swear. You men are all alike, just a bunch of big babies."

He grinned. "Thanks again, Janie."

He had deliberately called her by her nickname this time, and she rewarded him with a sweet smile before she headed back toward her store.

…..

"Jane, my dear, would you like some more potatoes?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Carlisle."

Jane accepted the china bowl from Robert's mother and spooned two of the fancy little potatoes onto her plate. They had green flecks on them, which she thought were probably bits of parsley, but she didn't want to show her ignorance by asking. She handed the bowl to Robert's father, who was sitting at the end of the table to her left.

He cleared his throat. "Robert, I received a response to my inquiry about the First Savings Bank in Topeka today. They said that they are interested in selling."

"Really, Father? That's good news. Have they told you how much they want for it?"

"Not yet, but I'm certain that we can negotiate a good price. I've asked my attorney in St. Louis to begin drawing up papers."

Addressing Robert, who sat across the table from her, Jane said, "This is so exciting! It might not be long until the bank here will be all yours."

"I think that you are more than ready to take over the bank," said Mr. Carlisle to Robert. "And I, for one, will be more than ready to leave the bank, and by extension the town."

Jane pursed her lips at Mr. Carlisle's comment. He had never made it a secret that he thought small-town life was beneath him, and he seemed to enjoy rubbing it in every chance he got. Mrs. Carlisle jumped into the conversation before her husband could continue.

"Albert, there is so much we'll miss here, especially our son and his darling Jane, and the beautiful grandchildren they'll give us someday."

Jane threw a grateful smile in her direction. Robert's daddy frightened her a little, but she loved his mama. Mrs. Carlisle was kind and generous, and she never had a critical word to say about anyone. So different from Wilton's mama, that time she came to Fort Courage-

Now, why would she be thinking about Wilton's mama at a time like this? She hadn't spared a thought for that stuck-up woman for years, but the shock of seeing Wilton again must have brought back those old memories. It was a good thing that Wilton's younger sister Daphne had been so nice, because she didn't doubt that Wilton's daddy was even scarier than Robert's. She'd always thought that she'd like Wilton's two older sisters, too, from everything she'd heard about them. It seemed that Penelope, in particular, had spoiled him when he was little, but Jane was of the opinion that a little spoiling never hurt a child, especially when the child had parents like that.

To his credit, Robert's father tried to soften his words. "Yes, Irene. We will make every effort to visit Robert and his family, and of course they will always have a place in our home."

Jane tried not to show how tickled she was by what had just happened. Robert's daddy might be stern, but it had always been obvious who ruled the roost in this house. Robert thought that he should always get his way, too, but she could see a lot of his daddy in him, and she knew that she would be able to handle him once they were married.

But… she'd also thought that she'd known how to handle Wilton, and she'd failed at that, which was really daft of her because he was the most agreeable man she'd ever known. He just hadn't agreed with her on that one important thing. Her good humor fading, she looked down at her lap for a moment, but then she raised her chin with determination. Robert was a different person, and maybe she'd never figured Wilton out, but she knew exactly what Robert was looking for in a wife. She wasn't going to fail this time. She'd do whatever it took to snare her man.

Robert's mother rang for the maid, who appeared immediately.

"Mary, did I smell some of your wonderful apple cobbler earlier?" asked Mrs. Carlisle.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm keeping it hot in the oven. I'll dish it up now."

Watching the maid leave, Jane frowned slightly. Mary had come here with Robert's parents and she'd leave with Robert's parents, but Jane knew that she was expected to have her own maid someday. Mrs. Carlisle had been trying to teach her how to run a household, and servants would be part of it, but she couldn't imagine what it would be like. How could she just sit by while someone else did the sweeping and the mopping, the cooking and the cleaning? How could she let someone else pick up after her, do the shopping for her, wash her dirty laundry?

Without realizing at first that she had done it, she reached up to finger the handkerchief still in her sleeve, the one that she'd used to wipe Wilton's brow earlier. She'd never seen Robert sweat, not even a little bit, and the only calluses on his hands were on the tips of his fingers from counting money. And did she even know how to launder a man's fine suit, like the one Robert was wearing right now? It would sure be different than laundering a cavalryman's uniform, that would be dirty and sweaty and smelling like a horse half the time. Wilton was much tidier than almost all of the soldiers she'd ever met, but he was a regular outdoorsman compared to Robert.

Now that she thought about it, Wilton would have grown up with servants, and as a man living alone in a house, he probably had at least a housekeeper right now. Emily would have grown up with servants, as well. She would have no trouble running a household. If she, Jane, had married Wilton, would she have had servants? Maybe she'd be running a household right now, and doing it easily, as if she'd done it all her life. She really couldn't picture it, though. For some reason, she had a feeling that Wilton would have been happy to set up house with just the two of them and no hired help. It wouldn't even be up for discussion with Robert.

Mary brought in the bowls of cobbler, so Jane quickly pushed the handkerchief a little higher up her sleeve and joined the others in enjoying their dessert. She might not like the idea of having a maid, but she couldn't deny that it had its benefits.

**End Chapter Four**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Five**

"If we add this area to Fort Courage's jurisdiction and cede this area to Fort Dodge," said Major Parmenter, leaning over a large map that was spread across Captain Buckner's desk, "it'll allow the settlers in both areas to feel more secure about the protection the army is providing."

His hands on his hips, O'Rourke peered over Captain Buckner's shoulder with Agarn close beside him. Strategizing had never been one of the major's strengths, but he did have an ability to relate to people and to understand what would make them happy. Those qualities, combined with patience for the paperwork and endless rules imposed by the army, had obviously served him well in the years since he had left Fort Courage.

Captain Buckner rubbed his chin. "I haven't heard of any problems in either of those places."

"Not yet," said the major, "but I want to make sure we're covered. It would be hard to react quickly given the way things are now."

The door opened, and they all turned to find that it was Jane. The major immediately straightened, and O'Rourke noticed how his face lit up when he spotted her. Could Jane not see this for herself? O'Rourke kept hoping that she would break off her engagement – he thought for sure that's what would happen after she came to the saloon two nights ago looking for the major – but as far as he could tell, everything was still the same.

"Good morning," she said. "Here's the mail."

"Thanks, Jane," said Captain Buckner as he took it from her.

She started to leave, but the major caught her just as she was going out the door. Captain Buckner had already returned to the map and gestured for O'Rourke and Agarn to join him, so O'Rourke couldn't hear the conversation by the door, but Jane put her hand on the major's shoulder while they both laughed about something, and O'Rourke was able to steal a glance and see that the ring was still there. She leaned close to the major for one final comment, and then she left.

The major looked so happy when he rejoined them that O'Rourke had to smile with him, but soon they all got back to business.

…..

Wilton had just sat down to lunch with Captain Buckner when the bugle sounded. They both jumped up and scrambled to grab their hats and guns, and as Wilton barreled out the door, it occurred to him that the call to arms was almost recognizable now. Dobbs must have been practicing.

"Who is it?" yelled Captain Buckner when O'Rourke joined them on the dash toward the parapets.

"Shugs!" replied O'Rourke.

Climbing up the ladder, Wilton could hear the war whoops of the Indians. It sounded like there were a lot of them. His heart was racing, but he knew that it was from excitement as much as anything, for it had been quite a while since he'd participated in something like this. He hadn't been a very good shot even back then, and he hoped he hadn't gotten worse. Target practice alone wasn't enough to prepare anyone for the real thing.

He found a spot and started firing. O'Rourke was in a familiar position on his left, but someone he had met only a few days ago was on his right, a private named Andrews who was so young he looked like he wasn't even shaving yet. Five years ago it would have been Jane, and she would have pretended that Wilton was the dead-eye shot while she picked off their foes one-by-one as if she were in a shooting gallery.

He aimed and fired, and he was surprised when the man actually fell from the horse.

"Good shot, Wilton!" he heard from his right. It definitely wasn't Private Andrews' voice.

He glanced over to find Jane beside him. "I didn't expect to see you up here!"

She sighted down her rifle, the pretty bow on the top of her head contrasting with her trusty, well-worn Winchester. "Robert is going to fuss at me, but I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

"I know that Captain Buckner is glad to have you up here." He aimed and fired, but he missed. "You're still the best shot at Fort Courage."

"Shucks, Wilton. I'm just glad to help while I can. It won't be long until I have a passel of young'uns, and I won't be able to do this."

Jolted by the image of Jane and Robert surrounded by a group of beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed children, he fired and missed by a mile. The chances were he would have missed anyway, but it was still unsettling.

Jane paused to reload. "It's been a while since we've heard anything from the Shugs. I reckon they must have heard you were here and they wanted to say hello."

He chuckled grimly. "Now we need to convince them to say goodbye."

Just as she raised her rifle again, an arrow whizzed between them and stuck in the guard tower. They looked at each other with big eyes before dedicating themselves to repelling the Indian attack. Gunfire continued to sound all around them, and just when he was beginning to wonder if the Indians might get the upper hand this time, the Shugs suddenly retreated, picking up their wounded at a full gallop away from the fort.

"Hold your fire, men," called out Captain Buckner.

Wilton lowered his gun and leaned his forearms against the battlement, as around him the rest of the men did the same. Jane tucked her rifle under her arm and tried to push her hair back into place. She was obviously exhausted – they all were – but he thought that she had never looked prettier despite the grime on her face.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine."

He motioned for her to precede him down the ladder, and just when they had both reached the bottom, he saw Robert rushing in their direction. Wilton assumed that he would pull her into his arms at the very least, reassure himself that she hadn't been hurt, but instead he stopped and regarded her with a mixture of alarm and disapproval.

"Jane!" he cried. "Were you up there? You could have been killed!"

"I wasn't going to get killed, Robert."

"But that's no place for a woman! I don't want you to do that ever again."

Her rifle held loosely in one hand, she put the other hand on her hip. "And why not? I've been fighting Indians longer than you've been counting money."

Wilton noticed several of the men standing around, pretending that they weren't listening to the exchange.

"I can't have my wife acting like a soldier." Robert turned his attention to Wilton. "And you were right up there with her! How could you let her do that?"

Wilton held up both hands and backed away. "I'm staying out of this."

Undeterred, Robert said, "It's too late for you to stay out of it. You're the reason she thinks she can be up there! You should have put a stop to this years ago."

"I'm not her boss," said Wilton mildly. "I was never her boss." _And, _he thought, _neither are you._ He didn't need to say it. Judging by the look on Jane's face, Robert was going to learn that soon enough.

Jane glared at the few men who were lingering, and they quickly turned away and found something better to do. Wilton thought that this was a good time for him to leave, too, but he didn't want to leave like this.

"Robert," he said, "Jane is good. I mean really good. You probably don't realize just how good she is. And she knows how to take care of herself. However, she told me herself that the two of you will have a family soon and that will be the end of her Indian-fighting days. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Visibly relaxing, Robert said, "Jane, I'm sorry for my reaction. I just want you to be safe."

She smiled and took his hand. "I know."

Wilton decided that it was time for him to return to his lunch. They were so wrapped up in each other that he just walked away without saying anything else.

…..

The Indians were overrunning the fort, climbing up the outer walls like spiders up a web. One of them made it over the top, and as she watched, he grappled with Wilton and they both fell to the ground below. She lifted her rifle to help, but when she tried to sight down it, she realized that it was the toy rifle she'd played with as a child, just a piece of wood with a bent nail for a trigger. She dropped it, but while she searched frantically for her gun, she saw the Indian draw a knife from a scabbard.

"Wilton, watch out!" she tried to yell, but no sound came from her throat.

With tremendous force, the Indian plunged the knife into Wilton's chest and pulled it away bloody. She screamed but no one could hear her as Wilton staggered two steps forward and collapsed facedown.

"Help!" she whispered, her throat raw from the effort of trying to be heard. "Someone help him!"

There were men all around, but none of them saw what she saw, so she started down the ladder. The more steps she took, though, the further away the ground grew, and when she started stumbling over her skirt, she noticed that she was wearing her wedding dress. Suddenly alone except for Wilton far below, she gathered herself and jumped from an impossible height, and she seemed to fall forever before she landed on the ground.

Her father was down there waiting for her. He looked at her with disappointment. Her mother was there, too, still young and beautiful like Jane remembered her.

"Jane, you're a big girl now," said her father, with her shiny new Winchester in his hands.

She reached for the gun, but he wouldn't give it to her. "Please help me," she pleaded.

"You'll be a wife soon," said her mother.

"I know," she said, "but I need help."

She struggled past her parents to find all three of her brothers behind them.

"You didn't close the gate," said Jasper. "The horses are gone," said Hiram. Tommy pointed at her. "It's your fault."

"No," she said as she stumbled onward. "It's not my fault."

Robert's parents appeared in her path.

"It's this loathsome town," said Robert's father.

She fell to her knees, crying. "Help me, Mr. Carlisle."

Robert's mother frowned, an expression Jane had never before seen on that kind face. "You're not trying hard enough!" she scolded.

"Yes, I am!" she sobbed. "I'm trying my best! Please don't be angry with me!"

She pushed them out of the way with all of her strength and crawled forward until she had dragged herself to Wilton's side. There was blood everywhere. It had turned the dirt into mud, and she could feel it sucking at her, threatening to pull her under. She reached forward and with a tremendous effort rolled him over.

It was Robert.

"No!" she cried. "No, Robert!"

Her eyes flying open, she bolted upright and realized that she had shouted out loud. It was a dream, only a dream. She gasped for breath and wiped the very real tears from her face, and then flopped back down onto her pillow and tried to bring her heartbeat under control so she could go back to sleep.

**End Chapter Five**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Six**

Jane left her store with the mail in her hand, but instead of heading toward the fort, she decided to drop by the bank. It probably wasn't a good idea because Robert was always so busy, but she was still troubled by last night's dream, and she wanted to see him. What on earth had that dream meant, anyway? It had seemed so real when Wilton got stabbed, and then to turn him over and find out that Robert was really the one who was dead had been awful. She couldn't shake the feeling that the dream was still there, circling over her like a buzzard, just waiting until it was time to land.

She went in the bank. "Hi, Jimmy," she said to the teller. "Is Robert here?"

"Yes, he's back in his office."

She walked across the small lobby and poked her head around the door. Robert was hard at work, writing in a ledger.

"Howdy, Robert."

He looked up with surprise. "Jane? What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to say hello."

His finger marking his place, he smiled, but it wasn't a big smile. "Hello."

She cast about in her mind for something else to say. "I have to make a delivery around noon. I won't be back in time for lunch."

"I didn't realize that we were having lunch together today."

"We hadn't planned to, but I wanted to tell you just in case."

"Thank you."

"We're still on for dinner, right?" she asked.

"Yes, right."

She stood awkwardly for another moment, but finally she said. "I'd better go deliver the mail now."

He nodded and immediately went back to his figures, so she walked back across the lobby.

"See you later, Jimmy," she said to the teller.

"Bye, Jane," he replied.

As she stepped out into the bright sunshine again, she kicked herself for bothering Robert. He had to concentrate so hard that even the smallest interruption was a problem, and she should have listened to herself and stayed away. She didn't even feel much better about the dream. Sure, he was safely tucked away in his little office and there wasn't an Indian anywhere in sight, but she would have loved to have spent more time with him. Well, that's what a banker's life was like, always busy. She'd just have to wait until tonight to see more of him.

In the fort now, she crossed the compound to the headquarters building, and then went up the steps.

Opening the door, she said, "Howdy!"

No one was there. She put the mail on the desk, but then changed her mind and picked it back up again. She left the building and saw Duffy by the well.

"Hey, Duffy," she called out, "where is everyone?"

"I think that they're in the kitchen. I heard Major Parmenter say something about showing them some new requisition forms."

She waved her thanks and headed toward the kitchen. When she got close, she could hear their voices.

Sticking her head in the door, she said, "Mail call."

Wilton, Captain Buckner, O'Rourke, Agarn, and Dobbs were all there. "Thank you, Jane," said Captain Buckner as she handed the mail to him, but she was already looking past him to what they were doing.

"Duffy said that you have new requisition forms," she said.

"Yes, the army just issued these." Wilton grinned and held out a piece of paper. "See this? Half as long, and just as effective. Pretty good, huh?"

She could tell that he was proud of it. "Did you recommend the changes?"

Pulling it back, he shrugged modestly and said, "Well, yes, actually I did."

"Hey, that's great, Major," said Dobbs. "You made that big old form easier. Now I'll think of you every time I fill it out."

Jane headed back toward the door. "See you all later."

Everyone said goodbye, but the voice she heard above all others was Wilton's. "Bye, Janie," he said.

As she walked back to the store with a bounce in her step, she looked up at the clear blue sky, and she was happy to notice that there wasn't a buzzard anywhere in sight. What a silly dream.

…..

Entering Jane's store, Wilton thought at first that it was empty, but after a moment he glimpsed just the top of a blonde head before she popped up from behind some low shelves.

"Howdy, Wilton!" She came around the shelves brushing the dust from her hands. "How's it going over at the fort?"

"Very well. We've accomplished a lot today, so we decided to take a break while Captain Buckner does some other things. I thought I'd use this time to ride around the area, maybe stop and say hello to Chief Wild Eagle. Do you want to go with me?"

She glanced over at the shelves she'd been rearranging like she was about to say no, so he added, "It might be nice to go outside, get some fresh air. Just for a little while. Do you still have Red?"

"Yes, I do. He's getting up there in years, but he still feels good."

"Then I'll bet he could use the exercise, too."

"You know what? You're right. I think I will go with you," she said. "It's been forever since Red and I have been out. Give me a few minutes to change."

He was careful to act like he didn't already know that she didn't go riding much anymore. It was hard to believe, but sure enough he hadn't seen her on horseback once during the four days he'd been at Fort Courage. He couldn't remember another consecutive four days for as long as he'd known her that this had been the case.

"I'll wait here," he said. "I'm already saddled up and ready to go."

She trotted up the steps, so he wandered over to the counter and picked up a Farmer's Almanac. He was reading an article about the phases of the moon when he heard the front door open and close. He looked up to see that it was Robert.

"Oh, hi, Robert," he said.

Robert appeared to be a little surprised to find him there, but he quickly recovered and said, "Hello, Wilton. I was hoping to find Jane. Is she around?"

"Yes, she went upstairs for a minute. She should be down soon."

Robert moved closer to see what Wilton was reading. "Is that an article about astronomy?"

"Yes, it's about full moons." He pointed to one of the pages. "It's pretty interesting. The Indians have a name for each moon that tells you what you're supposed to do when the moon is full that month. For example, in May, it's called the Corn Planting Moon."

"Are you trying to find out when you should plant corn?"

"Oh, no, I'm just wondering when to howl." Wilton laughed, but the laugh faded when he realized that Robert had been serious. "You know, uh, at the full moon." He cleared his throat. "Next month is the Strawberry Moon. I'm not planning to plant any strawberries, either, but it's good to know."

Wilton heard the upstairs door open and close, and when he looked toward the top of the stairs, he couldn't stop a huge grin from spreading across his face, because he saw the Jane that he remembered, in buckskins with her hair pulled back in a curly ponytail. He glanced over to see that Robert had a very different expression on his face.

"Robert!" she said. "Do you need me?"

He frowned. "I want to buy ten stamps. What are you doing?"

She hopped off the bottom step and came over to him. "We're going out to see Chief Wild Eagle. Here, let me get you those stamps."

Still scowling, he followed her to the counter. Wilton knew that she couldn't be oblivious to Robert's reaction to her appearance, so he assumed that she must be used to it. She quickly counted out the stamps and took a couple of coins from him, and then came back around the counter and looped her arm through his.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll be back in time to cook dinner for you."

"All right. Have fun," said Robert.

"I will."

She and Robert strolled out of the store, arm-in-arm, and Wilton tagged along behind them. She stretched up on her tiptoes to give Robert a light kiss on the lips just before they parted, and Wilton couldn't help but notice that it was nothing like the enthusiastic kisses she used to give him. He also didn't miss the slightly worried look that Robert threw over Jane's head in his own direction when she headed off toward the stable, but he just nodded politely at Robert before following her.

…..

Watching Jane walk away with Parmenter, Robert couldn't decide how he felt about this. Parmenter seemed like an honest enough man, but Robert wasn't a fool. He knew what they had once meant to each other. He saw O'Rourke enter the saloon, so he walked quickly in that direction before Jane could discern what he was doing.

When he went in, O'Rourke was in a conversation with the bartender, looking over a journal. He stood patiently until they had finished their business. The bartender closed the journal and slid it under the counter when O'Rourke turned in Robert's direction.

"Robert," said O'Rourke. "I didn't know you were there. Come on up to the bar and join us."

"No, thanks. I just want to talk to you for a moment."

O'Rourke picked up on his somber mood and moved close. "Can I help you with something?" he asked in a low voice.

"You've known Major Parmenter for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yes, he's a good friend and the finest captain we've ever had here at Fort Courage."

As Robert rubbed his mouth thinking about what he wanted to say, Jane and Parmenter happened to walk by the saloon with Jane leading her horse. It was obvious that O'Rourke had noticed them, too.

"I don't get out of the bank often," said Robert, "so I'm sure I miss things around town, but I've been hearing her talk about him quite a bit since he's been here. It seems like they must be spending a lot of time together."

"It's a small town. They run into each other."

"Now they're going riding together. To be honest, I don't know what to think about it."

"Listen, he's here, but she's still engaged to you, isn't she? She didn't throw you off and run into his arms, and in two days he'll be gone."

"But can I trust him? Will he try to steal her from me?"

O'Rourke straightened as if he'd been insulted. "Let me tell you something about Major Wilton Parmenter. He's the most honest, honorable man I've ever met, and he's a gentleman if I've ever known one. If she's made up her mind that she wants to be with you, he would never do anything to try to come between you."

Robert gazed toward the door, thinking about Jane and Parmenter out on the trail, but he finally decided to believe what O'Rourke had just told him. Besides, even if he didn't completely trust Parmenter, he did trust Jane. "All right," he said. "Good."

"Do you feel better now?" asked O'Rourke gruffly.

"Yes, I do." Robert pulled out his pocket watch and saw that it was time for him to get back to the bank. Already heading toward the door, he said, "Thank you."

…..

Inhaling, Jane tried to untangle the variety of scents in the air. She could pick out the wild roses that were just beginning to bloom. And the muddy river, swollen from the spring rains. Moss, trampled grass, new sassafras, and of course, the horses… She hadn't realized how much she had missed all of this until now.

She caught Wilton's eye and pointed toward a doe and her fawn, nearly hidden in the weeds at the side of the meadow. He smiled and nodded, and an instant later the doe's white tail flashed as she and the fawn bounded out of sight.

"Boy, this is a treat," said Wilton. "As many times as we did this before, I never got tired of it."

"Me, neither. Do you get to ride like this very much in Charleston?"

"Yes and no. There are plenty of beautiful places to go, but I don't really have anyone to ride with unless I'm taking the troops out on patrol or something like that."

"That's too bad. Tell me about what you can see around there."

He draped his hands over the saddle horn and leaned back in the saddle as his horse ambled along. "There's not a place within a hundred miles of Charleston that isn't pretty, but the town by itself is large enough to keep you busy for a while if you want to see everything. It's an old town, with big, beautiful houses and lush landscaping. It's a constant battle to keep nature under control. I have some huge bushes that I've pretty much let go. The blooms are too pretty to cut back, anyway." 

"I wouldn't want to cut them, either, unless it was to bring them in the house and put them in a vase. But I guess that's not something a bachelor's likely to do. Unless he's trying to impress a lady."

He grinned. "You got me there."

"Does Emily ever ride with you at all?"

"We like to take the buggy out around town after church, maybe ride down by the water. There are some impressive old churches. It's really something when their bells are all tolling on Sunday morning. Occasionally, we'll go out to one of the nearby settlements if the weather is mild and there's an auction. She has an amazing eye for nice things that other people overlook because they think it's junk. She brings it home and cleans it up, and it never fails that she has a treasure."

"She must have been brought up that way. Mama had some nice things, but I was too young to have learned much from her before she died, and Daddy never had time for anything but the ranch. My brothers and I pretty much destroyed everything around the house, anyway, playing cowboys and Indians or trying to learn how to lasso. I used to practice on a glass lamp she brought with her from Abilene. It makes me sad."

"You're going to have plenty of nice things now, Jane. It won't take you any time to learn to recognize quality."

They reached a fork in the trail, and Wilton guided his horse to the right so she followed.

"It's more than just that," she said. "I'll bet she has fancy manners, too. Robert's mama is trying to teach me all about greeting guests, setting a pretty table, pouring tea, arranging flowers, being all lady-like and proper. She's real nice about it, but sometimes I just want to pull my hair out."

"Be patient. It'll come to you. Emily has had a lifetime to learn those things. You can't expect to do it overnight."

"Did she grow up there in Charleston?"

"No, she's actually from Louisiana, but she has an aunt in Charleston that she used to visit every summer. That's how she met her husband." He smiled in her direction. "You probably picture her as being as pink as a little Georgia peach, but she's actually Creole."

"Creole? What's that?"

"In her case, it's someone who's of French descent. Both of her father's parents were from the south of France. Emily has dark hair and dark eyes, and her skin has almost an olive cast to it when she's out in the bright sunlight. She went to the best boarding schools, so she doesn't have what you'd call a Creole accent, but you can hear a hint of French in her speech now and then if you listen closely. It comes from growing up with her grandmother in the house."

"Wow, I never met anyone like that. I'll bet she's real pretty."

"She is. She doesn't look like anyone else I know. She doesn't act like most of the other ladies I've known, either. She had a privileged upbringing, but she made the most of her education, and she's not shallow or flighty as women raised that way tend to be."

"Has your family met her?"

"Only Daphne. She came down for a visit a couple of months ago. Needless to say, they immediately hit it off and excluded me from everything."

"I'm not surprised. Daphne gets along with everyone."

"Except for men, to her great regret."

"Is she still not married? Poor thing. I wish I could introduce her to my brother Hiram. All three of the boys are still bachelors, but he's the one who needs a woman in his life. He's pretty shy, too. I think he'd be more than happy to let her boss him around."

He chuckled. "It sounds like a perfect match."

They had ridden up to the bluff that overlooked the river, so they stopped to let their horses rest. Jane watched three buzzards circling, but before she could figure out what they had spotted below, Wilton said, "Agarn told me that you're selling the store."

"Yes, I am. The buyer is coming in two and a half weeks. All that's left is to sign the paperwork and hand him the keys."

"How do you feel about that? Your life has revolved around it for a long time."

She took a moment to run her fingers through Red's mane. "To be honest, I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it. I mean, I know it's time. I had actually always looked forward to selling it, because it would mean that I had something better to move on to."

"But now you've changed your mind?"

Crinkling up her face, she said, "No, it's not that. I'm ready to sell it. I just… well, I almost feel like I'm losing some part of myself. I keep wondering – will I still be Wrangler Jane if the sign doesn't say so?"

"Yes, of course you will." He reached over and gripped her forearm. "You'll always be Wrangler Jane, the roughest, toughest, prettiest cowgirl this side of the Rio Grande. And someday you'll have a little Jane or a little Robert, and you can pass that on to them, and it'll be much more meaningful than all the table-setting or flower-arranging lessons in the world."

She smiled at him gratefully. "Oh, Wilton, I'm so glad we can be friends again. I missed you."

"Me, too, on both counts." He gave her arm one last squeeze, and then flicked his reins to turn his horse. "C'mon," he said. "We need to go see Wild Eagle now if we're going to get back to the fort in time for supper."

…..

As they neared the fort, Wilton reflected on what Jane had told him just before they left the overlook: _I'm so glad we can be friends again._ When he had asked her to give him another chance and she said no, he'd been crushed. He hadn't known how he was going to make it through the rest of this visit, because he knew that every time he set eyes on her his heart would break all over again, but it hadn't been too bad. She was correct, and it surprised him – they could be friends now. And it was all right. He would have loved to be more, but he could live with this.

She drew him from his thoughts when she pointed to the woods beside the road. "You know, I haven't been back to Kissing Rock since you left. It looks like the path is still there."

"I wonder if anyone else ever found it. It's their loss, if not. It's a pretty little place, and it was the source of some good memories."

He was fascinated to see that she was blushing – evidently she was thinking of the same memories he was – but she just said, "Yes, it sure was."

Soon they were in the fort, and he was saying goodbye to her as he reined his horse toward the corral.

**End Chapter Six**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Seven**

Looking up at the hayloft, O'Rourke called out, "Hey Duffy, how many bales do we already have up there?"

Duffy poked his head out. "Give me a minute, Sarge, and I'll check."

Agarn, at O'Rourke's elbow, said, "Vanderbilt already told us there are thirty five."

"And you trust Vanderbilt to have counted them correctly?"

"I see your point." Agarn leaned closer and motioned discreetly in the direction of the flagpole, where Major Parmenter and Jane were in an animated conversation. "Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every time I turn around, those two have found a reason to stop and talk."

"It's not just you."

Agarn thumped a fist against his chest. "It kills me, Sarge, just stabs me right in the heart when I think about how he's going to leave tomorrow without her, all over again. I wonder if he's tried begging. That's what I would do. Maybe I should tell him to give it a try and-"

"Agarn, he's not going to beg. Besides, if she's made her choice, he's going to respect that."

"Yeah, yeah, he's a good guy and all that. But he's a good guy that's going to end up alone."

"Maybe so, but that's just the way he is. I told Robert the same thing when he asked me if he should be worried about how much time they're spending together."

"Robert." Agarn made a rude noise. "It would do him good to worry a little bit. I don't think he appreciates her enough."

"I won't disagree with you there. I almost didn't reassure him, just out of meanness, but then he would have been trying to head the major off at the pass every time he even looked at Jane, and that would have spoiled any last possibility that she might change her mind."

"Oh, good thinking, Sarge."

"Yeah, well, I don't think it's going to matter, as things have turned out. She would have jumped ship already if she was going to do it."

The major and Jane wrapped up their conversation and headed off in different directions. While O'Rourke watched, their faces went through the same series of expressions as they walked away from each other – smiling at first, but then becoming more thoughtful, and finally almost sad.

"Don't it just break your heart?" asked Agarn.

Duffy stuck his head back out from the loft, so O'Rourke nudged Agarn, and they returned to work.

…..

Wilton was sitting at Captain Buckner's desk with his last piece of paperwork in front of him when he heard someone come through the door. He glanced up to see that it was Jane.

"Still working?" she asked.

"Yesss…" He spoke slowly as signed his name at the bottom. "No."

"Now are you all done?"

"Captain Buckner and I will have to take care of some last-minute tasks tomorrow morning, but that should be it. Then I get to do it all over again at Fort Bravo."

"I hate to see you go, Wilton."

"Me, too, but we'll stay in touch. Right?"

She nodded sadly. Not sure which one of them he was actually trying to cheer up, he stood and said, "It's a nice night. Let's go for a walk."

"That's a good idea. Where do you want to go?"

Holding the door open for her, he said, "I don't know. Do you have any suggestions? Can you think of something we haven't seen yet?"

"I know! Let's go to Kissing Rock."

He stopped. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, it'll be fun." She smiled at him mischievously. "And I don't mean the kind of fun we used to have."

They started walking again, and he thought about how different this would have been five years ago. He would have reached for her hand about now, and she would have moved so close to him that it would feel like they were attached at the shoulder. He would have been able to smell her hair. As a matter of fact, if he leaned close right now, he could probably catch just a whiff of it…

She looked over at him, and he straightened guiltily, but she didn't seem to notice what he had been doing.

"What time do you leave tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm taking the noon stage to Dodge City. Will you be there to see me off?"

"You bet I will! I wouldn't miss it, especially since I don't know when I'll see you again."

_Probably never,_ he thought. As a major in line to make colonel before long, there would be no professional reason for him to be sent out here again, and he didn't think it sounded like such a good idea personally, either. Emily had been more than patient, but he wouldn't want to do anything else that might jeopardize his relationship with her. Assuming she still would have him.

They stepped off the road when they neared the little path into the woods, and he saw Jane lift up the bottom of her skirts so they wouldn't drag through the high grass. He started to ask her if she wanted to go back and change, but she didn't hesitate so he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to see her ruin her nice clothes, but he kind of liked the idea that she wouldn't let something as inconsequential as a dress and impractical shoes slow her down. He was also pretty sure Robert wouldn't approve. Which, of course, made the idea even more appealing.

She grinned back at him when she had to duck under a low branch to start down the path. "Here we go."

"Remember that time we sneaked out here when the fort was locked down during war games?" he asked.

"I sure do." She pushed a blackberry briar out of the way. "You were so naughty!"

"I was tired of listening to that major tell me what to do." He dodged a couple of saplings. "I have a young lieutenant who's my aide at Fort Sumter, and I saw him do the same thing with his girlfriend once. I started to reprimand him, and then I remembered the obnoxious major and I decided that I didn't want to be that guy."

"You could never be like him, Wilton. I'm sure your men love you even when you have to lay down the law."

She stopped to move a couple of low branches out of the way, so he reached over her shoulder and grabbed them. "This path isn't quite as clear as I thought it would be," he said.

"No, it's not."

She slipped around the branches and held a third one for him while he caught up with her. He had to let the other two go, and he and Jane both ducked when one of them whipped back. He wasn't quite quick enough and it knocked off his hat. He picked it up, dusted it off, and put it back on.

"Here," he edged his way past her. "Let me go first."

Growing quiet, they concentrated on making their way through what had turned out to be a pretty solid thicket. He felt briars tug at him now and then, and he really hoped that he wouldn't have to go to Fort Bravo with a hole in his pants. When another low branch knocked his hat off again, he jammed it harder onto his head and turned to look at her. She had her skirts all the way up over the crook of one elbow, revealing her shapely calves, and he was so busy watching her that he walked right into a heavy branch that almost knocked him down.

He heard her laugh. "That's what you get for not keeping your eyes forward, Wilton."

Playfully indignant, he said, "Well, what did you expect?"

He renewed his attention to clearing the path, but a moment later he realized that she wasn't right behind him anymore. He made his way back to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm caught." She tried to reach behind herself in one direction, and then tried it from the other. "I can't get to it without tearing something."

"Let me give it a try."

She straightened, and he had to press himself against her in order to slide past. She started giggling, which got him started, too. He had just managed to get one foot behind her when he felt something tug at his belt.

"Oh, no," he laughed. "Now I'm stuck. It's my saber. It's caught on that bush."

"Here. Let's see if I can reach it."

She wrapped her arm around his waist, but by now they were both laughing so hard that they were practically holding each other up.

"Just a little further…" She could hardly talk. "Almost there… Got it!"

He edged past her until he could reach the hem of her dress.

"There!" he laughed. "Freedom!"

They were within sight of Kissing Rock, so they needed only a few more steps before they could stumble into the clearing and collapse onto the rocks. Still laughing, he held his side and wiped his eyes, and he saw her do the same.

"That was so funny!" she gasped. "We could have been stuck here all night!"

Her eyes were bright and even in the moonlight he could tell that the color was high in her face, and he drew in a quick breath. After a moment she realized that he had stopped laughing, and the smile faded from her face as she gazed into his eyes.

His chest suddenly so tight he could barely breathe, he said, "Don't marry him, Jane."

She blinked. "What?"

Moving closer, he took her hand in both of his own, "I've never tried to come between a man and a woman, not once in my life, but this is far too important to stand on honor or propriety. Please don't marry him."

She tried to tug her hand away, but he wouldn't let her. "Wilton, please… No…"

He moved still closer, his face only inches from hers. "There's been a spark between the two of us since the day we met, and it's still there. I know you feel it, too."

She shook her head helplessly, and he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"Please, Jane," he begged. "I know you still love me."

"Yes, I do. Of course I do. I always will. But I love him, too."

"But is there a spark with him? Does he make you feel like you feel, right here, right now, with me?"

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Wilton," she said sorrowfully. "I'm going to marry him. That's all there is to it."

He searched her eyes to make sure that she really meant it, and then released her hand and slid away. He looked down at his lap and swallowed convulsively, and he couldn't think of anything else to say. They sat like that for what seemed to him an eternity.

Finally, she said gently, "It's time for us to be getting back now."

They rose and made their way back through the underbrush.

…..

They stood in front of her store.

"Will you still come to see me off tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, I will."

Unable to meet her eyes, he nodded and left.

**End Chapter Seven**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Point of No Return, Chapter Eight**

Waiting at the stagecoach stop with Agarn, O'Rourke looked around for the major. The stagecoach had arrived about five minutes ago, and he could tell that the driver was impatient to get back on the road.

"I wonder where he could be," muttered O'Rourke.

"I don't know, but here comes Jane," said Agarn.

O'Rourke turned and saw Jane and Robert coming their way. Jane had her hands wrapped around her upper arms as if she was cold, and he couldn't tell by her face if she was upset or just squinting against the sun. As he watched, he saw her glance up, let her arms drop, and try to smile. He looked over his shoulder to see that the major was approaching from the opposite direction with his bag in his hand.

All three of them arrived at the stagecoach stop at about the same time.

The major put his bag on the coach. "Well, men, I guess this is it. I hate long goodbyes, so we'll just keep this short and sweet."

O'Rourke and Agarn saluted, and the major returned it.

"It's been great having you here, Major." said O'Rourke, reaching for the major's hand.

"The men will miss you," added Agarn,

"Sergeant, Corporal." The major shook O'Rourke's hand, and then Agarn's. "I've enjoyed working with both of you again. I always tell anyone who will listen that F Troop is the best outfit in the army."

He moved over to Jane and took both of her hands in his own. Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek and murmured into her ear, "I hope you're very happy, Jane."

"Thank you, Wilton," she said unsteadily.

The major closed his eyes, and he lingered with his face next to hers until his expression was neutral again. He straightened abruptly, smiled, and held out his hand to Robert, "Take good care of her, Robert."

Grasping the major's hand, Robert said, "I intend to."

The major nodded toward each of them once again and boarded the stagecoach. The driver cracked the whip, the stagecoach drove away, and just like that, he was gone.

They all stood and watched the dust settle.

O'Rourke turned toward the others to make a comment about how good it had been to see the major again, but the words died in his throat when he saw Jane's face. He must be turning into a big softy – the longing on the major's face when he kissed Jane's cheek had about turned him into mush, and now the loss on Jane's face was doing it to him again. She didn't even notice that he was watching her, her eyes instead pointed toward the stagecoach that was by now certainly out of sight. Robert had already started back in the other direction.

"Jane," Robert said, clearly oblivious to her emotional state. "Let's go eat lunch."

As if his words had awakened her, she jerked slightly, and then followed him. O'Rourke looked over at Agarn. He could tell that Agarn had seen it all, too.

"C'mon, buddy," said O'Rourke with resignation. "Let's get back to work."

He took a couple of steps, paused until Agarn fell into step beside him, and together they walked back to the fort.

…..

Robert sat at the table in his kitchen while Jane lit the stovetop, put a spoonful of lard in a skillet, and got a plate of sliced ham out of the icebox. She was usually chatty while she cooked, but today she was quiet. When she put two slices of ham in the skillet and began to poke at them with a fork as if they'd run away if she didn't keep them pinned down, he finally spoke up.

"Jane, are you all right?"

She ducked her head and kept her back to him. "Yes, I'm fine." She didn't sound fine. He wondered if she might be mad at him.

"Jane?"

Finally, she faced him, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were damp and her nose was red. She swiped at her cheek with the back of her hand and said, "I'm sorry. It's just hard saying goodbye to him all over again."

He frowned and looked more closely at her. "What did he say to you?"

"Just… that… he hoped I'd have a happy life."

"No, that's not what I meant. I heard him say that. I'm talking about whatever it was he said yesterday or the day before."

She put down the fork and grasped one of her hands with the other, looking everywhere but in his eyes.

Alarmed now, he stood, "Jane, I know he must have said something to you. I didn't realize it until now, but you haven't been yourself. I can't remember when it started. Was it yesterday? Did he do something to upset you?"

"He…" She swallowed. "He told me not to marry you."

"What?" He clenched both hands into fists. He had never hit anyone before in his life, but he thought that if Parmenter were standing before him, he'd gladly punch him in the nose. "He said that to you? I thought that he was supposed to be a gentleman!"

She looked into his eyes as if she were pleading with him. "He said that it was too important to stand on honor."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him no! That I was going to marry you!"

Suddenly realizing that what he heard in her voice wasn't distress over an unwelcome advance but pain, he felt the anger drain out of him, and he had to sit down. "Is that what you want?" he whispered.

She had picked up the hem of her apron and she was worrying at it with her fingers.

When she didn't answer, he said more firmly, "Jane? Is that what you want?"

She dropped the apron and began to wring her hands together. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Robert! I didn't mean for it to happen. I just looked up one day, and there he was, standing there, in the doorway to my store." She took a deep, shuddering breath, and choked out, "And it was like he had never left."

Robert put both elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands. He could hear her weeping softly in the background. Without uncovering his face, he said, "Are you breaking it off with me?"

"No!" He heard her take a step closer to him. "No, I'm not! I love you, Robert!"

"But do you love him more?" He dropped his hands. "Do you?"

She shook her head, and he didn't know if that meant no, or if it meant that she didn't want to answer his question.

"Jane," he repeated carefully, as if he were talking to a first-grader. "Do you want to call off the wedding?"

"No! I promised I'd marry you, and I will!"

He sat there and watched her shoulders heave. Her entire face was wet from tears, but she made no move to dry them. The ham sizzled behind her.

Finally, he stood. "Jane, 'because you said so' isn't a very good reason to marry someone. You deserve better, and frankly, so do I."

She relaxed slightly and her breathing slowed, and he knew in that instant by the set of her shoulders that he had lost her. He hadn't even realized that he was still holding out hope.

Well," he said. He turned his face toward the window. "If you jump on your horse and ride as fast as you can, you might be able to catch him before he boards the train in Dodge City."

"Robert."

"Jane, go. Just… go."

She hesitated, watching him closely, but then she took off her apron and put it over the back of a chair, and hurried toward the door. Just before she went through it, however, she whirled and came back to him. He watched her expectantly, thinking that maybe he had misjudged the situation after all, but she just pulled off her ring, lifted his hand, and put the ring in his palm. She closed his fingers around it and held his hand tightly between her own hands.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He closed his eyes and nodded, and a moment later he heard her run out the door.

…..

O'Rourke was standing by the corral with Agarn when he heard the sound of hooves pounding through the fort. He looked up to see Jane, crouched low over her horse's neck, hair coming loose and skirts billowing behind her, riding for all she was worth toward the outer gate.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Go, Janie girl!"

Agarn threw his hat in the air. "Yee haw!"

Jane didn't budge from her intense concentration over Red's neck, but she reached up with one hand and pulled the ribbon from her hair, and let go of it with her hand high in the air. The ribbon fluttered to the ground in a cloud of dust behind her.

Agarn punched O'Rourke's arm as they watched her vanish through the gate, but O'Rourke smiled sadly and said, "I think we've just lost our little Janie."

A shadow passed over Agarn's face, but his smile diminished only slightly.

"And I couldn't be happier, Sarge."

…..

Jane thundered up to the hitching post in front of the train station and jumped off Red before he had even completely stopped. She kissed his nose and whispered an apology for riding him hard and leaving him wet, then wrapped the reins around the post and ran into the station. There was a train stopped on the tracks, and she knew that it had to be Wilton's.

People were milling about the station, and she quickly scanned the crowd as she ran through the building. She hadn't expected to find him there, but she didn't want to take a chance on missing him. She pushed her way out to the platform.

Some people were boarding the train, and others were standing around, maybe families saying goodbye or slowpokes who were taking their time. She stood on her tiptoes trying to see into the window of the car closest to her.

"Wilton!" she called out. "Wilton!"

She listened for a response, then ran up to the next car and tried again.

"Wilton!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Several people turned toward her, but none of them had the face she was looking for.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Was she too late? The conductor was walking in her direction shouting "All aboard!" and as she watched even the stragglers started to move toward the train. She ran a few more steps, called his name and turned in a circle searching everywhere, and ran forward again.

Suddenly, the crowd parted, and she saw him standing far down on the platform, near the end of the train.

He was looking right at her, and he appeared to be completely stunned. She went limp with relief for a moment, and then she picked up her skirts and started running in his direction. A huge smile spread slowly across his face. He dropped his bag and walked toward her.

Now within just feet of him, she let go of her skirts and threw herself into his arms. She felt his strong grip encircle her, and he buried his face against her neck.

"Oh, Jane," he murmured shakily, his voice muffled by her hair. "I promise you'll never regret this."

Drawing back, she put her hands on either side of his face. "I lost you once. I couldn't lose you again."

He released her and backed away, holding up the index finger of one hand while opening his coat with the other. She had never been able to understand how he was able to unbutton his coat so quickly with just one hand. He took something small out of his inside pocket and knelt on one knee before her, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

Holding a ring between his fingers, he said "Jane Angelica Thrift, will you marry me?"

At first she couldn't speak, but finally she found her voice. "Yes," she cried. "Oh, Wilton, yes!"

He stood and put the ring on her finger. Taking her into his arms, he gazed into her eyes for a moment with a tender smile on his face, and then he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her. Hard.

She heard the conductor nearby. "Uh, sir? Ma'am? It's time for the train to leave."

Wilton continued to kiss her, and she felt her knees begin to go weak.

The conductor cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said more loudly. "The train is leaving. Sir!" He tapped on Wilton's shoulder. "Sir!"

The whistle blew, and she heard the wheels start to clank.

Wilton finally released her. Grabbing his bag as he backed away from her, he said, "I'll be back in six days, maybe sooner if I can hurry things along at Fort Bravo."

She nodded, her eyes bright and her hands clasped under her chin. "I'll be waiting for you!"

The train had picked up a little speed, so he had to take a couple of quick steps in order to hop into the doorway. Hanging on, he leaned out.

"Be thinking about what kind of wedding you want!" he shouted over the increasing noise. "When, where, and how big!"

She trotted alongside the train. "I will! I will!" she called.

The train gave a good jerk, and he finally had to wave one last time, release the doorway, and go inside the car. She could see through the windows that the other passengers applauded as he walked down the aisle, and he gave them an embarrassed little tip of his hat before he found a place to sit. She reached the end of the platform and bounced on her toes, waving, until the train was completely out of sight.

She held her hand out and studied the ring. So. She was engaged. To Wilton.

As she started back to the station and had to consciously stop herself from skipping like a schoolgirl, she had one more thought.

_Finally._

…..

Stretched out on his back on the pull-down cot in their private compartment, Wilton enjoyed the comforting rhythm of the train and the weight of Jane's head on his shoulder. She had commented that the private compartment was much too expensive, but he thought that it was the best money he had ever spent. That, and the money he had used to purchase a berth for Red in the stock car.

She rubbed his chest. "I'm so glad you were able to extend your stay until I could sell the store. I know it's silly, but I was afraid that if you left without me, I'd wake up one morning and find out that it was all just a dream."

He chuckled. "If it's just a dream, then I'm in it with you, and I hope that I never wake up."

"Same here."

Lightly stroking her arm, he said, "I hope you aren't too disappointed that you didn't get to have a big wedding like the one you had planned in St. Louis."

"Do you know what? I never told Robert this, but what I really wanted was a wedding just like the one you and I had, with our friends, in the church we used to attend together. But what about you? It wasn't a big military wedding."

"It was perfect, exactly as it was. I wouldn't have changed a thing."

They were quiet while she idly drew circles on his chest with one finger. Finally, she said, "Wilton, do you think that you and Emily would have been happy together?"

He studied the pattern in the ceiling that was just barely visible in the dim light. "Yes," he said. "We would have been happy. We would have loved each other."

"But no spark."

"Exactly."

She propped herself up on her arms so she could see his face. "You know that she would have been a much better officer's wife than I'm going to be."

"No, no, Janie, sweetheart. You'll be terrific."

He could see her face just well enough to tell that she was really worried. "But I don't know anything about how to act at fancy parties," she said, "and heaven forbid we try to host something-"

He reached up to smooth a lock of hair away from her forehead. "You're smart, you're kind, you're energetic, and you've lived an interesting life. Just be yourself, and I promise that you'll be the hit of the season. Besides, they'll see that I'm crazy about you. All of the other husbands will be jealous."

She kissed him. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

He ran his arms around her back and pulled her down to him, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sir?" said the disembodied voice. "You wanted me to tell you when we were close."

"Yes, thank you," Wilton called out.

Jane scooted over to her side of the cot when he sat up. "What is it, Wilton?"

"Come over to the window with me for a minute."

They stood up and wrapped themselves in a blanket. The train was bouncing around a bit, and they laughed when they tried to coordinate walking together while wrapped up in the same blanket, but soon he had opened the curtain and they were standing at the window. He put his arm around her.

"What are we looking at?" she asked.

"Wait just a minute… There."

The sound of the train changed as it headed out over a high bridge. The shimmer of the moon on a wide expanse of water could be seen below.

She stood on her toes so she could see better. "What is it?"

"The Mississippi River."

Relaxing against him, she said, "Things are sure different this time than they were the last time you went this way, aren't they?"

"Oh boy, don't you know it. I never thought that I could be this happy, Jane. We're going to have an amazing life together."

She smiled. "Yes, we are."

They looked out the window until the train was all the way across the bridge, and then they turned back to their bed, ready to sleep.

End story


End file.
